Original article in Ukrainian by Serhiy Hrabovsky
Politicians, even if they are top professionals, have the right to make mistakes. Particularly, Ukrainian politicians who are not very much experienced in public and civilized race for power.
No wonder that Yuliya Tymoshenko, being in opposition just a week, succeeded to make all possible political errors, serious enough to eliminate them successfully in the near future. At least it will be very difficult to change the course of events.
What are we talking about?
Not only about Tymoshenko’s assaults in a live appearance on Inter TV channel, accusing president Yushenko’s circle (consequently him personally) in corruption, and which therefore give the country's leader cause the next day to comment her words in a condescending way, saying that Yuliya is in a state of psychologic stress he has once experienced after his dismissal from the position of premier too. And in addition Yuliya Tymoshenkko’s theses expressed in the interview to the Ukrainian edition Kommersant, issued past Tuesday.
The first thesis is her allegation to come back to the Cabinet of Ministers after parliamentary elections, even having no support of any parliamentary coalition: "It is not just a chance, I am confident to win parliamentary campaign. And then, no doubt, I will head the government".
This thesis is closely tied to the second one, specifying that BYUT will take part in elections separately: "We will go independently. We will not associate with Yanukovich, SDPU(o) [Social-Democrat Party of Ukraine] or other political forces... I am sure that we will collect 226 voices, win elections and form majority in the parliament ", said Yuliya Tymoshenko.
In other words, Tymoshenko in public declared the war to Ukrainian political forces, many of which would like to participate in the government, some of them as senior partners, but majority as junior ones.
BYUT let them know that it needed the junior partners neither during parliamentary elections nor after them, and Yuliya Tymoshenko herself intends to become a monopoly manager of the next parliament with all powers which comes out of the constitutional reform.
That means that before elections, and, especially, during election campaign everybody will fight against Tymoshenko: some against an electoral rival, others against the future power, the third simply to enjoy the battle with the Ukrainian "iron lady", the domestic Jean d’Arc.
So, the situation cannot be rescued by assertions like: "If we lack a few voices, we will certainly associate with anybody", or "I am sure we will collaborate with the parties PRP [Reforms and Order] and NRU [National Movement of Ukraine], when we fix the form of collaboration".
In fact it is clear, that even in case of BYUT collaboration with other political forces, the latter will manage to become rather "infantry" or "cannon fodder" of a large policy, than equal partners (even junior).
By the way, right after retirement of the government Leader of faction For United Ukraine Bohdan Hubskyi has supported Yuliya Tymoshenko in public. Did Tymoshenko meet him half-way? Quite the contrary.
Undoubtedly, Hubskyi is a dubious political figure, but Tymoshenko was mistaken again having turned possible allies into potential opponents. She deprived herself of possibility to manoeuvre by blocking decisions during parliamentary elections and creation of the new government by the Supreme Soviet, having no real support in Verkhovna Rada.
After all, why rely on BYUT, but not on "wide front of Maidan" or "orange alternative to quasi orange power"?
Tymoshenko also launched the war against the future government, declaring: "I can say in clear, that we do not have grounds to take part in the government headed by Yuriy Ekhanurov. I do not consider it to be the government our political force will join. I reckon that our top priority is to win the parliamentary elections and to form a government able to meet expectations of people after the revolution".
Wrong impression is produced according to Tymoshenko, meaning that Ekhanurov is unable to meet people’s expectations, his government is "wrong", and Ekhanurov himself does not give grounds for Yuliya to participate in his government.
Finally, Tymoshenko launched the war personally to the president, despite her allegations "not to betray him at any circumstances" and "never to oppose the president", in her interview she said directly: "I disbelieve that the president will get rid of his team, he did the choice between corruption entourage and the government consciously". Does it need further explanations?
Now let’s talk about Declaration of Unity and Co-operation for the Future of the Country, signed by the president, the speaker, the acting premier and leaders of almost all parliamentary factions.
It is clear that this declaration is no more, than set of abstract theses without the mechanisms of their embodiments. But BYUT looks very strangely in a company of those who has not signed the declaration [Communist Party of Ukraine and SDPU(o)].
Among opponents of declaration there are also PRP and some other factions, but Petro Symonenko, Viktor Medvedchuk and Yuliya Tymoshenko are the most noticeable figures who appeared to come out against unity, co-operation and honest elections.
Meantime the problem might be solved easily: Tymoshenko (or any representative of her faction) had to sign only those provisions of the declaration about unity and co-operation that concerned honest elections, principles of political democracy, freedom of speech and others like that. And if the president or the speaker had opposed it, they, but not Tymoshenko and her team, would have appeared guilty in the dissidence of progressive forces.
And, no doubt, the mass-media close to Tymoshenko should not have written titles like this: "Yushenko has betrayed our revolution".
Let us clear up which revolution they meant. According to Yushchenko, the revolution has finished on December, 8, 2004 when the new round of voting was appointed by the Supreme Court of Ukraine. The president never hid such understanding of revolution, so he did not betray it; nevertheless the government had been changed through voting, and as a result Kuchma is not a president already, as well as Yanukovich not a premier.
However, another question arises: if the top priority of "our revolution" is the struggle for high living standards and freedom against corrupted and authoritative criminals, why parliamentary faction BYUT has accepted so many deputies, softly speaking, with the stained reputation? And what BYUT differs from People’s Union Our Ukraine faction with?
As for the press-conference of Olexander Turchynov, its content may provoke immediate impeachment of President Yushchenko. But are there 300 voices in the parliament, necessary to start impeachment procedure? And is it possible to start impeachment without the proper law? And if yes, what to do further? Who will lead the government and will not the country be broken to pieces?
It seems like even Yuliya Tymoshenko has no answers for these questions.
In other words, it seems that action plan of Yuliya Tymoshenko the same as last year's plan of Viktor Yanukovich, leaves much to be desired.
Scarcely such sharp steps that give no space to manoeuvre, but constantly enlarge the number of potential rivals, will do favour to those fighting for Maidan’s ideals. And in case if Tymoshenko’s strategy is to draw the enemy's fire and to bear for action, it will hardly be called reasonable and pragmatic.
To speak a military language, such "encounter attack" was permissible a few weeks before elections, but half-year before the forced actions and acquiring of enemies are able to entail demoralization of the team and inactivity of considerable part of electorate.
And maybe, Yuliya Tymoshenko aims to heat up the domestic policy and to launch a bloody battle in the government? Does BYUT expect triumphantly to take the Supreme Soviet by storm during the fight which will unavoidably proceed half-year?
But will the nation which is still recovering from the battles of "orange" and "Yunukovichists", as well as a half-year daily squabble of parties and leaders, withstand psychological pressure? Will not an elector give advantage to either some radical carpet-baggers which promise all enticements of totalitarian paradise or reanimated team of Leonid Kuchma, choosing "developed Kuchmizm" as the less and already known evil?
In any case, Tymoshenko’s team seems to exhaust all possible limits of errors on the eve of parliamentary campaign. Now Tymoshenko should either act faultlessly (that is impossible in principle) or catch the errors of her rivals and counteract more effectively.
It looks as if the fighters for the purity of Maidan’s ideals have a good chance to succeed, as their rivals, i.e. teams of Yushchenko, Lytvyn, Medvedchuk, Moroz and others, through bad Ukrainian habit are doomed to make plenty of mistakes thus playing into the hands of their opponents.
No doubt Yuliya Tymoshenko is able to beat masterly anyone, being in her way...
