You do not always win by staying aloof all the time. As the presidential elections draws nearer in 2004, Ukraine more than ever needs a moral and political authority that could overthrow the corrupt regime at the time and lead the country to prosperity...
You do not always win by staying aloof all the time. As the presidential elections draw nearer in 2004, Ukraine more than ever needs a moral and political authority that could overthrow the corrupt regime at the time and lead the country to prosperity. However, the man who might remind people of Vaclav Havel or Lech Walesa disappoints. Viktor Yushchenko, a great hope of those Ukrainians who looks forward to and democracy, does not really have the charisma of a leader.
Favoured by Western governments, the reformist former Prime Minister embodies a new generation of Ukrainian politicians. A well-balanced patriotic touch, mingled with a manifest willingness to fight corruption help along. Confident of his good results as head of government before he was ousted by president Kuchma, Yushchenko charms people. He rallies them around him as he enjoys a high popularity rating, something unheard of since Ukraine’s independence.
But the rational political approach of the man who used to run the Ukrainian Central Bank makes him shun any direct confrontation with the President – unlike the fiery Yulia Timoshenko, who symbolizes resistance to the oppressive regime. As he is anxious to get a dialogue going with the ruling people, Yushchenko has since the creation of his bloc “Our Ukraine” tried to find a middle position on the political scene, keeping contact with the opposition parties as well as with those in favour of the President.
That is a clever strategy, considering the diversity of his own bloc in a Ukraine that is politically divided between East and West. However, it keeps losing its credibility in the eyes of a more and more contesting and divided opposition. On the other hand, the Ukrainians are beginning to have their doubts, while the time for their last chance elections is short.
On the eve of the 2004 presidential elections, though, and within only a few days, the whole world is witness to a radical transformation. This 50-year-old economist, the son of teachers from the region of Sumy, becomes the icon of a whole people. The indecisive politician, so quiet and peaceful, suddenly turns into a true warrior. The reason is, Viktor Yushchenko has just escaped death. During the night of 5 to 6 September 2004, the opposition candidate running for presidency was poisoned with dioxin.
With a dramatically changed face, swollen with blisters, he throws himself into a ruthless battle against the government and rigged elections. Revolution is on. Considered now as a martyr, Yushchenko gathers and unites crowds of Ukrainians from everywhere. A few weeks later, the hero of of the “Orange Revolution” will become the third president of post-Soviet Ukraine.
© Cyril Horiszny
