The new regime in Kiev has given the country's political evolution another chance to kickstart itself
Four years ago, when the then pro-western Ukrainian President Yuschenko was warming up to Brussels while ignoring its sulking neighbour Russia, you could not help but recall the famous Ukrainian maxim: “The church is near, but the way is icy. The tavern is far, but I will walk carefully.”
So, for four agonising years, Kiev kept on going to the tavern while the Church waited; quietly doing what it does the best—twisting the arm. And in hubris, which led Yuschenko believe that it can act as a chessboard between the West and the emergent Russia, Kiev became an international playground. The people who had so enthusiastically ushered in the Orange Revolution a few years ago became wary. Yuschenko ignored domestic concerns and indulged a little too much in the international game. When he woke up, on the eve of the elections, he had already lost the plot. The gloom in Brussels was obvious. But gloomier still was Yuschenko’s camp.
Now compare that with the new President Viktor Yanukovych’s path. An open pro-Russian leader, the first capital he visited was Brussels—not NATO’s den but EU’s headquarters. He conducted talks with the President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso and the President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek.
Unlike Yushchenko, who preferred to make pledges of ceaseless love to the nation’s European buddies, Yanukovych specified his priorities of associations with the EU. They consist of the signing of the accord on association (a first step towards the EU), the formation of the free trade zone, the non-visa regime and the EU’s support in overcoming the consequences of the financial predicament in Ukraine—rather domestic concerns, all of them. And then, he decided to rebuild the bridge with the nation his predecessor had so offended—Russia.
Four years ago, when the then pro-western Ukrainian President Yuschenko was warming up to Brussels while ignoring its sulking neighbour Russia, you could not help but recall the famous Ukrainian maxim: “The church is near, but the way is icy. The tavern is far, but I will walk carefully.”
So, for four agonising years, Kiev kept on going to the tavern while the Church waited; quietly doing what it does the best—twisting the arm. And in hubris, which led Yuschenko believe that it can act as a chessboard between the West and the emergent Russia, Kiev became an international playground. The people who had so enthusiastically ushered in the Orange Revolution a few years ago became wary. Yuschenko ignored domestic concerns and indulged a little too much in the international game. When he woke up, on the eve of the elections, he had already lost the plot. The gloom in Brussels was obvious. But gloomier still was Yuschenko’s camp.
Now compare that with the new President Viktor Yanukovych’s path. An open pro-Russian leader, the first capital he visited was Brussels—not NATO’s den but EU’s headquarters. He conducted talks with the President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso and the President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek.
Unlike Yushchenko, who preferred to make pledges of ceaseless love to the nation’s European buddies, Yanukovych specified his priorities of associations with the EU. They consist of the signing of the accord on association (a first step towards the EU), the formation of the free trade zone, the non-visa regime and the EU’s support in overcoming the consequences of the financial predicament in Ukraine—rather domestic concerns, all of them. And then, he decided to rebuild the bridge with the nation his predecessor had so offended—Russia.
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