Update on My Favorite “Ex-Communists”: the Ukrainians

In November 2004, the world watched in awe as Viktor Yushchenko, scarred but unbowed by a botched assassination attempt, led Ukrainian democrats in an Orange Revolution against the communists who had lorded over them for fifty-plus years.

In April 2005, I wrote a laudatory and hopeful commentary on Yushchenko’s historic visit to the United States, where Congress hailed him as “the George Washington of Ukraine.”

By September, reality had set in. I was obliged to lament Yushchenko’s catastrophic failure of leadership, which had many erstwhile supporters pining for a return to communist rule. Because, instead of implementing reforms to eradicate corruption, establish fiscal transparency, and set his country on a path toward sustainable development, Yushchenko’s government collapsed into paralyzing infighting. He never delivered on any of the promises his democratic foot soldiers fought for.

Frankly, Yushchenko gave the impression that his mandate was merely to manage the grandiose ambitions of his government members. And no one seemed more difficult to manage than Yulia Tymoshenko, the charismatic woman he appointed prime minister. Many Ukrainians thought she personified the spirit of the Orange Revolution.

Therefore, it was not surprising that Yushchenko’s most decisive act as president was sacking Tymoshenko. Unfortunately, this only deepened disaffection with his leadership. It exacerbated the democratic growing pains of all Ukrainians. To make matters worse, instead of going quietly, Tymoshenko led a mutiny against him. Their governing coalition crumbled in abject failure.

This led to new elections last March. Pervasive disillusionment with Ukrainian democracy resulted in the improbable return to power of unreformed communists led by Viktor Yanukovych, the man Yushchenko claims ordered his assassination.

But, ironically, as the communists did all they could to thwart the democratic will of the Ukrainian people in November 2004, democrats mobilized to prevent them from ruling now.

To this end, Yushchenko and Tymoshenko kissed and made up to form what they hoped would be a more successful second opportunity to govern. Despite their reconciliation, however, the Democrats were so thoroughly defeated at the polls that Yanukovych still managed to form a majority coalition, called the Party of Regions, comprising socialists and communists in Ukraine’s 450-member parliament.

However, because he and Tymoshenko were unable to outmaneuver the communists democratically, Yushchenko resorted to his presidential prerogative to refuse to endorse Yanukovych as prime minister. Thus, since last March, Ukraine has been without a government.

And just last Thursday, Tymoshenko — betraying who really wears the pants in her political marriage with Yushchenko — revealed that it was her Machiavellian plan to prolong this impasse. She calculated that if she could prevent Yanukovych from meeting today’s constitutional deadline to form a government, then Yushchenko could exercise his right to dissolve parliament. Ukraine would face its third general election in 18 months.

Nonetheless, truth be told, Tymoshenko made it plain that if Yushchenko had endorsed Yanukovych as prime minister, SHE would have considered it:

…a betrayal of Ukraine’s national interest!

Clearly, Yushchenko deferred to her devices. Accordingly, he’s expected to dissolve parliament today and announce new elections that, hopefully, will finally put an end to Ukraine’s long democratic nightmare.

NOTE: Winston Churchill famously agreed that ‘Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.’ In that vein, iPINIONS agrees that American democracy is the worst ever practiced, except for all other democracies that have been tried and found even more wanton. Unfortunately, an unintended consequence of America’s bad practices is that many new democracies are emulating them.

For example, Americans have routinely undermined democratically-elected governments based on ideological bias. They did this recently with the Chavez government in Venezuela. They did it with the Hamas government in Palestine. They’re trying to do it with the Shiite government in Iraq. This is an egregious affront to the principles of democracy.

The irony, if not hypocrisy, seems completely lost on them. Yushchenko and Tymoshenko are merely doing as the Americans do by going to such extreme lengths to prevent democratically-elected communists from governing Ukraine.

But like the Americans who are paying dearly, at home and abroad, for continually sacrificing democratic principles at the altar of political expediency, so too will Ukrainian democrats. They will harbor and foster resentments that will plague their democracy for years to come.