« Orange Bust | Main | We Few, We Unhappy Few »
Meet the new boss - same as the old boss
August 3, 2006 06:03 AM
Man, did I screw this up
In Ukraine a politician can always fall back on the virtues of "unity." So it is with today's agreement to appoint Viktor Yanukovich as prime minister. President Yushchenko didn't just get politically bear-whacked by a lumbering, dull-witted circus creature - he united the country!
I'm not sure this unity ploy is going to pass muster among Ukrainians hoping for someone with... well, with a shorter rap sheet.
Twice, in 1968 and 1970, Yanukovych was convicted and imprisoned for robbery and bodily injury. During 2004 presidential election, he announced having been acquitted of guilt back in 1978. However, no documentation has been presented, which raised suspicions of forgery. [link here]
Thug life fo-eva.
That 1978 declaration is suspect. In fact, the crime for which Vik claimed vindication was somewhat more egregious than the ones listed above. I will not name it, because I have been unable to find a link just yet.
And no, Ukrainian blog reports do not constitute independent confirmation that it occurred.
While I'm looking, I thought you all might like to see a photo of one of Yanukovich's poll workers from election night.
One day, perhaps he too will have things expunged from his criminal record. I thought it wise to get this photo of him early that evening, in case some shenanigans went down and he disappeared. Fine, call it profiling. The way I see it, don't walk around in a stocking cap unless you want people to think you're a burglar.
As it happened, our friend seemed far more interested in observing us, the international observers. Specifically, our group's young Polish gal, Anya. We escaped when he fell asleep around 6 a.m.
Anyway, back to Yanukovich. Although he clearly had leverage in the negotiations - his party breezed to a plurality win in the Rada elections - many people are simply going to be shocked by this outcome. Throughout, the consensus seemed to be that, no, Yushchenko would not dissolve parliament - his party would probably fare even worse in a second round of elections - and, no, he would never settle for Yanukovich. There would have to be some compromise candidate. Some humiliations are too great even for Yushchenko, who by now is a connoisseur of the art. The constitutional changes that went into effect at the new year have greatly enhanced the power of Ukraine's prime minister, whoever it might be. So, in choosing Yanukovich, Yushchenko would essentially be appointing his presidential rival to an office higher than the one he lost. For a president who has insisted that Ukraine must join NATO and the WTO - maybe even the EU - this was a neat way to tell his new Western friends that he seriously blew it. Which he did.
Now he's waving - but not revealing - a National Unity Pact, signed by Yanukovich, that supposedly commits Ukraine to its current West-leaning direction. Maybe so. Yanukovich's party - Regions - is essentially a consortium of thieving oligarchs. And if they understand anything, it's that their future business opportunities lie in the West. (Indeed, Rada membership gives full license to pursue them.) So perhaps they can unify behind a common agenda.
And who knows - the spirit of unity might just prompt the new prime minister to learn Ukrainian. Anything's possible, I guess.
