Kyiv, too, follows U.S. presidential elections (11/12/00)

Kyiv, too, follows U.S. presidential elections

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Although Kyiv was not outfitted in red-white-and-blue bunting on November 7, most Kyivans were well aware that on this autumn day people in the United States were electing a new president.

And, while Ukrainians seem to know the American candidates and even the issues, they were more occupied with staying dry on this wet and misty day, and getting food on the table.

Nonetheless, Ukrainians have kept an ear turned towards the political campaign that has taken place in the United States over the last year. This is a well-educated society that remains more focused on international affairs and politics than other Western countries. People know that George W. Bush is the son of the former president who made the "Chicken Kiev" speech and that Al Gore is the current vice-president, best known for his stiff, unnatural public image.

The Ukrainian press displayed a keen interest in the process and covered the major events leading up to the vote, including both party conventions. One network even showed all three presidential debates with a Ukrainian-language overdub - courtesy of the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv. Ukrainians could view for themselves the in-your-face-attitude of Mr. Gore in the first debate and the laid back, conversational pose taken by Mr. Bush in the informal tableside debate.

Students of the prestigious Institute of Foreign Affairs of Kyiv State University held their own debate on November 4, sponsored by the "Debate" Information and Methodology Center in Kyiv. Two students representing the candidates, Gov. Bush and Vice-President Gore, presented their presidential programs and debated the issues. The Bush pretender won the mock debate.

The major networks also had teams in the United States reporting on the democratic process and U.S. society in general. In the two weeks prior to the vote, reporters from the two major private Kyiv stations, Inter and Studio 1+1, filed daily reports from Washington. On Election Day they were in Texas and Tennessee, following the candidates in their home states.

Back in Kyiv, the press of Ukraine showed up in large numbers on the day after the vote, to size up the results at a post-election media breakfast hosted by the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy at the capital city's premier Irish pub. Nibbling on canapés and blintzes while watching CNN, reporters had a chance to mingle with members of the U.S. diplomatic corps and the business community in Kyiv, including Ambassador Carlos Pascual.

The U.S. ambassador worked the tables of journalists like a seasoned politician, while explaining the election process and providing his own insights. Mr. Pascual answered reporters' most often asked question by assuring them that U.S. policy towards Ukraine will not change significantly regardless of who is elected the next president, while emphasizing the strategic and friendly partnership between the two countries.

Peter Sawchyn, the embassy's press attaché, said he was pleased with the attention the Ukrainian press has given the elections. "We were happy with the turnout and with the interest the media has shown in the elections," said Mr. Sawchyn.

Rostyslav Chomiak, a Ukrainian American journalist currently residing in Kyiv, said he was delighted with the general atmosphere in Kyiv surrounding the elections. "From the bottom of my heart, I am very pleased that in 2000 I can order a cab in Kyiv that comes to my door, go to an Irish pub run by an Englishman to watch American democracy in action on CNN with my Ukrainian colleagues."

In Kyiv, as in much of the world, even those who had paid little or no attention to the U.S. elections became interested when early in the morning on November 8, with a very tight race and no decision on the outcome, the U.S. media couldn't make up its mind about who would take Florida. Interest grew further when it became obvious that the problem wasn't with the press but with the microscopically close voting results in that state. By the time Americans awoke that morning to discover they still did not know who would be their new president, Kyiv was abuzz with speculation.

Many residents closely monitored hourly updates on radio and television. Those who previously had not paid much attention to the Electoral College, soon came to understand the arcane concept. Kyivans could not resist comparing the U.S. elections to their own vote a year ago and to speculate on how much "influence" the political organization of Mr. Bush's brother, who is the governor of Florida, may have on the recount of the votes.

That afternoon, the National Radio Broadcasting Company and the Radio Era Company co-sponsored a direct radio link-up with a Russian-language New York radio station, Radio New Wave, on the U.S. presidential elections. Although Mark Taplin, public affairs director of the U.S. Embassy, had to cancel his planned appearance due to the unsettled situation surrounding the elections, several Ukrainian experts in the field of foreign affairs were on hand to lend their thoughts and analyses, among them, Ihor Ostash, chairman of the Verkhovna Rada's Committee on Foreign Affairs, presidential press secretary Oleksander Martynenko and respected political analyst Yevhen Kaminsky.

Discussions ranged on issues from the influence of the Ukrainian American lobby on Republican Party politicians to the reasons the U.S. press publishes dirt on Ukraine prior to visits to Washington by the Ukrainian president.

The insights showed that Ukrainian political leaders seem to understand U.S. political history and the electoral process almost as well as Americans do. But no one among the Ukrainian political wise men gathered cared to answer why that knowledge hasn't been utilized in reforming the Ukrainian political system. Nor, for that matter, did they attempt to forecast whether Mr. Bush or Mr. Gore would take Florida - and the U.S. presidency.

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