EDITORIAL: The state of the state (01/29/06)

EDITORIAL

The state of the state

On January 23 President Viktor Yushchenko delivered an address to the nation on the occasion of the first anniversary of his inauguration. He focused, of course, on the achievements of the first year of his administration. He told the people of Ukraine: "Together we have proved that the Ukrainian nation is capable of building a modern, independent and democratic state." He underscored that the nation is united by "a sense of national dignity," adding, "Today we say: Yes, I am a citizen of Ukraine and I am proud of it. This is the main achievement of the first year of my presidency."

The president also underlined that Ukraine has proved it can protect its national interests, that the shadow economy has been reduced, that national budget revenues grew by 50 percent, and that Ukraine cares about the welfare of all of its people. Other successes cited by Mr. Yushchenko were in the realms of freedom of speech, "where the word 'temnyk' has gone for good; and in foreign policy, where Ukraine has proven to be a reliable partner and has earned respect around the world.

Mr. Yushchenko acknowledged that Ukraine "has lost time" due to the infighting among former partners of the Orange Revolution. Quoting philosopher Hryhorii Skovoroda, he said, "The greatest loss is the loss of time." He pledged that he would not allow "destructive steps" to slow down the country's development. "We need to be a strong and united team, and drop our personal ambitions for the sake of the future" - a future that includes reform in five spheres: health, education, rural areas, energy and the judicial system.

The president's address came less than two weeks after the Verkhovna Rada took the controversial move of sacking the Cabinet of Ministers, ostensibly over the gas deal regarding Russian gas supplies. As many commentators have noted, it is not even clear that this Parliament had the right to dismiss the entire Cabinet since the new constitutional reform that went into effect January 1 apparently applies not to the sitting Parliament but to the body that is to be elected in March. What makes matters worse is that President Yushchenko cannot challenge the Verkhovna Rada's action in the 18-member Constitutional Court because the Parliament has neither nominated its share of the judges needed to complete its composition, nor has it sworn in the nominees already tapped.

In this milieu, the president proposed a plan "to stabilize the sociopolitical situation in Ukraine." He said it was necessary to introduce a moratorium on decisions or actions by the executive or legislative branches of authority to destabilize the country. What is needed right now, he said, is for all to work together to ensure free elections of a new Parliament, in which the parliamentary majority will name the new government. Next, he said, the Parliament must act to establish a functioning Constitutional Court. As well, the president said he would establish a joint working group whose goal will be to harmonize the work of the president, Cabinet and Parliament, especially in relation to political reform.

Finally, the president appealed to the citizens: "I know that our strength is in unity. And we can make Ukraine strong and prosperous."

The sad truth, however, is what the president himself admitted: that Ukraine has "lost time." Indeed, the latest polls (see story on page 1), show this rather dramatically, with 60 percent of the people of Ukraine saying that Ukraine is headed in the wrong direction. The good news is that a majority of the people still plan to vote in the parliamentary elections and consider it to be important for citizens to cast their ballots. With the new constitutional reforms in effect for these elections, the composition of the new team that President Yushchenko says is needed to implement reform is very much in the hands of the voters who will elect new national deputies on March 26.

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