Turning the pages back... December 22, 1999 (12/19/04)

Turning the pages back...

December 22, 1999

Five years ago, on December 22, 1999, a Kyiv-based free-lancer reported in this newspaper: "While President Leonid Kuchma looked on approvingly, national deputies across the political spectrum joined to give their overwhelming approval to National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) boss Viktor Yushchenko's nomination as Ukraine's next prime minister." Mr. Yushchenko received 296 votes in favor of his candidacy for the nation's second-highest government job, out of 316 deputies present. Twelve deputies cast their ballots against Mr. Yushchenko, while four abstained.

Excerpts from the story filed by Stefan Korshak follow.

Debate was almost completely laudatory, but Mr. Yushchenko responded sharply to one Communist deputy's allegation he had become personally wealthy while running the NBU. "If you don't believe me, tomorrow there will be a bus at the front door of the Parliament," Mr. Yushchenko said. "Any deputy who wants to check can drive to my house and see how wealthy I am."

But, perhaps significantly, even three members of the usually rabidly leftist Progressive Socialist Party - headed by Leninist Natalia Vitrenko - broke party ranks to join the heavy majority supporting Mr. Yushchenko's candidacy.

The lopsided legislative victory marks a critical success in President Kuchma's efforts to build a working parliamentary majority to support campaign promises to accelerate the pace of Ukrainian economic reforms. One of the biggest barriers to implementation of more radical Ukrainian economic reform has been a long-standing impasse between Mr. Kuchma, who advertises himself as a business-friendly centrist, and largely leftist parliamentary deputies.

Mr. Kuchma nominated the 45-year-old Mr. Yushchenko after the Verkhovna Rada shot down Mr. Kuchma's first nomination, long-time political ally and sometimes hatchet man Valerii Pustovoitenko on December 14. But on December 22 politicians across Ukraine's political spectrum were registering their support in favor of President Kuchma's second choice for prime minister, a man best known for a strict monetarist policy and facile, if not always successful, handling of Ukraine's national currency, the hryvnia.

"Viktor Yushchenko is the kind of professional Ukraine needs right now," said National Deputy Stepan Havrysh, a Revival of Regions faction member. "With our financial problems we need someone who can deal with Ukraine's foreign debt."

Mr. Yushchenko made clear that his short-term goal is stabilization of Ukraine's shaky finances."We should admit that for a very long time this state has lived beyond its financial capabilities ... We have no choice but to put our financial house in order."

Source: "Verkhovna Rada overwhelmingly approves reformer Viktor Yushchenko as prime minister," by Stefan Korshak, The Ukrainian Weekly, December 26, 1999, Vol. LXVII, No. 52.

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