IN THE PRESS: Commentaries on Ukrainian Cabinet's sacking (09/18/05)

IN THE PRESS: Commentaries on Ukrainian Cabinet's sacking

The New York Times editorial of September 9 titled "Ukraine's Orange Flame, Dimmed":

So ends the Orange Revolution, at least Act I. After months of increasingly nasty disputes, Ukraine's president, Viktor Yushchenko, fired his charismatic prime minister and nominated a caretaker to replace her. The fired prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, has said nothing - yet. But she will. Her fiery speeches and powerful presence were a major factor in the popular uprising that brought Mr. Yushchenko to power last fall, and she is certain to turn these weapons on the president and his new government, especially with elections for Parliament scheduled for March. All that is a serious blow to the hopes and expectations that had been raised for the future of Ukraine, and for reformers in Belarus and other former Soviet republics. ...

Commentary by Richard H. Shriver titled "Orange Revolution Not Over," published in the September 13 issue of The Washington Times:

... The fact is, no matter what else the future holds, the Orange Revolution moved Ukraine irrevocably toward the West and Western norms. The next president will be truly elected, not appointed by a Russia- or oligarch-controlled mafia. As one Ukrainian said, "No one kills journalists any more." In January, newly elected President Yushchenko had to appoint a government, one made up, ideally, of trustworthy people who shared his vision for Ukraine and knew how to run a democracy, people the voting public respected for their honesty and competence. Unfortunately, hardly any people in Ukraine met all these qualifications.

This was an impossible job and Mr. Yushchenko instead installed people who helped him become president, many with little ability or long-term loyalty to Mr. Yushchenko or his vision. That his government came unraveled should neither surprise nor shock. ...

The Christian Science Monitor, September 12, commentary by correspondent Fred Weir titled "Ukraine's Orange Rebels Splinter":

... The stage is now set for an acrimonious face-off between the formerly united pro-Western democrats in parliamentary elections next March, which could facilitate a comeback by forces of the previous regime, led by Viktor Yanukovych, who remain strong in Ukraine's heavily Russified east.

But many experts say the falling-out among the Orange revolutionaries was probably inevitable and need not be fatal to Ukraine's struggling democracy. "What we're seeing here is the end of the bright and shining myth, born in the streets of Kiev [sic] last year, that Yushchenko and Tymoshenko were completely like-minded leaders," says Alexander Shushko, an expert at the Institute of Euro-Atlantic Integration in Kiev. "We always knew they were together for political convenience; the contradictions and competition between them was never a secret."

Yurii Yekhanurov, a liberal economist with a reputation for political neutrality, was named acting prime minister. "Perhaps now we'll have a government of technocrats, who will turn to problem-solving," says Iryna Podlutska, president of the independent Europe XXI Foundation in Kiev. "Maybe this will give Yushchenko some breathing space, enable him to strengthen his team and work on long-range strategy for the country." ...

Le Monde editorial of September 10 titled "Crisis in Ukraine" (translation by The Ukraine List):

If the revolution does not devour its children, they devour each other sometimes. This is what is happening right now in Ukraine. President Victor Yushchenko, who arrived to power at the beginning of the year following the Orange Revolution, has just dismissed his entire government under the leadership of Yulia Tymoshenko, the heroine of the movement that placed Ukraine on the road to democracy. The crisis was already brewing for some time, as the divergence between the president and the prime minister on the speed and depth of reforms became more and more apparent. The accusations of corruption expressed by a person close to Yushchenko against the members of the government, and notably against an oligarch who financed the Orange Revolution, were the triggering element. The resignations that followed evidenced the fragility of power. Most importantly, they demonstrated the persistence of the system of power against which the united crowds protested during several weeks at the end of 2004 in Kyiv. ...

September 9 editorial of the Financial Times titled "Bitter Oranges":

Viktor Yushchenko, Ukraine's president, yesterday finally moved to end a political crisis that was disrupting his government and undermining business confidence. But Ukraine cannot hope for real stability until after next spring's parliamentary elections, by which time the domestic and international goodwill generated by the Orange Revolution may be lost.

Mr. Yushchenko was right to overcome his innate caution and sack Yulia Tymoshenko, his populist prime minister. By appointing Yuri Yekhanurov, a long-standing ally and veteran technocrat, he may bring some much-needed consistency to the government. However, the victors of the Orange Revolution, who overthrew the authoritarian rule of former President Leonid Kuchma, are suffering the classic problem of regime-changers. United mainly in their opposition to Mr. Kuchma, the new rulers have fallen out over power, policy and patronage. ...

Commentary titled "Peeling Away the Revolution" by Robin Shepherd published in the September 9 issue of the Wall Street Journal:

An act of strength or sign of weakness? Actually, Viktor Yushchenko's decision to fire his entire government yesterday smacks of both: strength because it allows him to form a Cabinet of allies rather than rivals; and weakness because he was all but forced to do it to answer damaging accusations that he was tolerating corruption in his own inner circle. ...

The key question now, therefore, is this: Can Mr. Yushchenko and his new government recreate unity among the country's democratic forces, or are they heading for collapse?

... the big picture in Ukraine remains one of hope and progress. This time last year, the country was run by a group of people who it would be kind to describe as thugs. The country still may have a long way to go, but we are at least past the stage at which opposition journalists wandered around the streets of Kiev [sic] in fear for their lives. ...

Anders Aslund, writing in the Moscow newspaper Vedomosti on September 12, in a commentary headlined "The End of the Orange Revolution":

... this government has been an unmitigated disaster of socialist populism. On top of everything, it has maintained a revolutionary discourse of vehement public attacks against individual businessmen and politicians, including members of the government. Eight months of this mess was too much.

It was, therefore, a great relief when President Viktor Yushchenko reasserted his authority to put an end to this public mismanagement. Sensibly, Yushchenko also let several big businessmen, who helped finance and manage his campaign, go, as their aspirations to make money on their positions have been another worry.

This government change marks the end of the Orange Revolution. Yulia Tymoshenko and her loyalists have now marched out of the government, and Tymoshenko has declared that her political bloc will stay independent of Yushchenko's. The question today is where various politicians and businessmen will go. ...

Editor's note: The clippings above were compiled from various sources, including the Action Ukraine Report, published by E. Morgan Williams, and The Ukraine List, a publication of the Chair of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Ottawa.

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