Analyze mistakes to try something new
Our society has become subdued. Our intelligentsia is limiting itself to voicing its dissatisfaction with what is happening in the public and political spheres in the form of online articles. Our opposition is busy fighting with itself, as usual. Meanwhile the government is carrying out its action plan. All this leaves most citizens in a state of apathy. Anything can happen under such circumstances. If this situation meant reaching the bottom, then there would be the dubious satisfaction of being unable to go any lower. What we have is a crisis, without the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. They say that the Chinese symbol for crisis is made up of two characters — one of which means opportunity. How can one benefit from the current situation in Ukraine? Various experts discussed this problem in Kyiv, focusing on Ukraine’s prospects, new political forces, the younger generation, and protest movements.
Says Valerii Asadchev, former head of the Poltava Regional State Administration: “I would emulate the Georgian example. They had to fight a war, but then the president of Georgia succeeded in breaking the backbone of Soviet mentality, and filled offices with young politicians who replaced the older generation. I was visiting Tbilisi and saw the city’s mayor, a 30-year-old fellow, carry out his duty as a patriot and a European. It was then that I became convinced this man would be the next president of Georgia. We made no arrangements whatsoever. Ukraine is in danger of falling of the wagon, and spending years there (with the younger generation fighting for impeachment procedures and then hightailing to the West, convinced that there was no future for them in Ukraine). Under the circumstances, it would take powerful forces to change anything for the better. Today, we see that political power is being usurped; this is worse than an Eastern Ukrainian regime or a revival of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic; this is Ukraine ruled by another country. My recommendation for the younger generation is establishing another political party, on truly democratic principles. The crux of the matter is to have factions, ruling out the possibility of a single party leader presiding over and deciding what bills have to be passed, with all MPs turning into yes-men. This political party, in the presence of factions, will secure genuine democracy, with debates actually being possible within the party. If this party is built using the democratic centralism principle — or to help a given party leader keep his course — the result will be lamentable.”
Politicians and public figures have analyzed the latest presidential campaign and arrived at the conclusion that we all have to assess our own actions. This is especially true given the presence of a great many patriotic, public figures and politicians, but whose patriotism ends where personal interest begins.
Oleksandr Palii, a political analyst, says it’s not the time for sprinkling ashes on one’s head. He sees the current social and political situation from a different angle, with certain positive aspects: “I think the recent fiasco wasn’t that of Ukrainian society; it was the fiasco of the political leadership, all those politicians who proved inadequate, mildly speaking. We shouldn’t overhype the political situation. It is true that this situation is difficult, with half of the government being against Ukraine’s interests. On the other hand, here we are sitting and discussing this situation. I guess everyone realizes that we have a stable majority, all those people supporting the idea of Ukrainian national independence. This is a key item on the national agenda that allows us to move forth and realize that our society is somewhere between being the best and the worst. Yet the socioeconomic situation is going from bad to worse at a head-spinning speed. Ukraine’s public debt has reached an amount that implies default in international practice, considering that our budget can’t afford social payments. In fact, the incumbent government can’t make social payments without foreign monetary aid. This government is critically dependent on foreign lenders. The proverbial man in the street is aware of all this. President Yanukovych’s ratings are plummeting faster than those of Yushchenko: minus 15 percent in the first four months, so you can imagine the end result. I think that Yanukovych has a nucleus of sorts that will secure 10-12 percent at best, but the material factor is also important; all those people prepared to vote for Yanukovych are motivated by this material factor: money. Once they realize they have been stiffed, they will want to revise their political affiliation.” Mr. Palii describes the current situation as fraught with political opportunities.
Oleksandr Popov, maidan.org.ua, says one has bear in mind the next parliamentary election, two years from now, and believes that something can be done before the election date. He refers to Barack Obama who went all the way up from an obscure senator to president of the United States.
There is yet another problem broached by the experts, namely the Ukrainian idea and its weak point: our history is packed with liberation wars, none of which have succeeded. Why?
The historian Volodymyr Viatrovych explains: “Our [political] leadership isn’t the problem. The problem is the absence of a team. The problem is that for the past 20 years this or that Ukrainian national project has been adjusted to a single leader. This has been the weakest point of the Ukrainian national movement and the main reason behind its failure. That’s why I think we shouldn’t discuss leaders — the true leader will reveal him/herself. Also, with regard to a new political project, it must have certain values in mind, a certain kind of ideology and a solid team. We must set about creating a [political] force on the broadest possible scale, to serve as a national front [a bulwark] of sorts. However, we must bear in mind the two stages of this process: first, our struggle against the incumbent political system — Ukrainians boast a vast experience in this kind of struggle, what with the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, anti-Soviet underground movement, prisoners of conscience, samizdat, you name it. But we have to work out our own recipe; we have to come up with a national idea that will determine the destiny of our Ukraine. Too bad, we can fight heroically, even score victories, but we have never learned to benefit from them. This is the basis of the Ukrainian national movement and we have to take it into account. Today we hear about communities determined to produce a new political force. Great. So long as that force can come up with an action plan and offer its vision of Ukraine. There are certain reasons behind every political project. Each such project materializes only if there is a team of experts who can plan and control its process. There are a number of such projects on record, within and without Ukraine. Ukraine’s most effective such project was the establishment of the OUN [Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists], even though it took about twenty years. Our society has become markedly more dynamic, so the new projects will need less time, but we have to work systematically, lest this organization get scattered, divided into separate groups. What we are faced with is a marathon, not a corporate short-distance breathless race. We’re talking about several decades of hard work. The next stage will require a combined efforts to score a victory. The past five years’ experience shows that we haven’t learned to use any of this.”
Indeed, before we attempt anything new, we have to analyze our mistakes, so as not to repeat them. Most importantly, we must make the best of our experience. We can change our domestic political situation for the better only after we learn to change our own lifestyle and mentality.
