COMMENTARY: Crisis to crisis: Ukraine's political fiasco (01/15/06)

COMMENTARY

Crisis to crisis: Ukraine's political fiasco

by Walter Prochorenko

Ukraine has again shown that democratic rule may not be working in its new democracy. Once more, one crisis has not had time to simmer down when a new one erupted. The result will most likely be a complete lack of confidence in any form of governance, and a possible return to hysteria, hyperinflation and chaos.

Unfortunately, when such vacuums are created, the ruthless, the bandits and the oligarchs are the only ones who come out ahead. Can the only solutions be disbanding Parliament (which the president may no longer have the power to do) and instituting emergency rule measures?

The confusion created by the constitutional change on January 1 from a presidential-parliamentary to a parliamentary- presidential form of government, as well as the abuse that is already being perpetrated by the Verkhovna Rada, can only lead to a complete breakdown of the rule of law that these bodies have sworn to uphold.

Just two weeks ago the BBC reported that "Justice Minister Serhii Holovatyi denounced the amendments as being illegitimate and not meeting European standards."

Adding to the confusion, RFE/RL reported on January 10 that, according to its interpretations, in accordance with "a constitutional reform that took effect on January 1, it is the Parliament that now has the critical say in forming a governing coalition and appointing a new Cabinet. But the reformed text stipulates that those new powers belong only to the legislature that is to be elected in March - not to the sitting Rada." Thus, Parliament seems to be breaking its own rules and laws by taking the actions it did.

The constitutional changes were the result of 11th hour negotiations between President Leonid Kuchma and presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko at the end of 2004 during the Orange Revolution. They were agreed to at a time when the peaceful revolution could have erupted into violence and bloodshed had such agreements not been hammered out.

This agreement - which any court of law would have deemed to have been signed "under duress" should have been reviewed and revised by the president's administration and Parliament during the year 2005. The fact that it was not poses questions of competency regarding the leadership of the Yushchenko administration. At the same time, that does not preclude questioning the usurpation of power that Parliament is once again demonstrating.

Can Ukraine rule itself? This is a question that continually comes to mind when we look at Ukraine's lack of progress in instituting a working democratic system for governance. With Russia ready to pounce at any time in an effort to control or influence Ukraine's political machine, why is Ukraine playing with fire?

Dr. Walter Prochorenko is currently director of publications at the Ukrainian National Association. His previous experience consists of over 30 years as a multi-national entrepreneur, wealth management advisor and business consultant in international business. Part of his business experience consisted of establishing and running several successful development businesses in Ukraine for a period of over eight and a half years. Dr. Prochorenko obtained his Ph.D. in international business and wrote his dissertation on the economic and political situation of Ukraine since independence.

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