Ten Questions to Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko
July 1, 2008 – 9:13 pmSome commentators on Ukrayinska Pravda, other Ukrainian sites and my blog have ignored my ten questions to Yushchenko and asked instead ‘Where are the 10 questions to Tymoshenko?’ This is a wrong question for the simple reason is that the President is in his fourth year in power while Tymoshenko is only twice in government, once for 8 months in 2005 and currently for 7 months. Ukrainians went on to the streets in 2004 in their millions in support of Viktor Yushchenko’s candidacy. It is that presidency that should be more under judgement than Tymoshenko’s twice brief period in government. Her government is after all the fourth since the orange revolution.
1. Why do you think that the Leonid Chernovetsky bloc came first in the Kyiv city elections? Did BYuT choose the right candidate for mayor and would it not have been better to support a single candidate from the democratic coalition? What mistakes did BYuT make in these elections?
2. Do you think that your government’s policy of repaying lost and stolen bank savings has been one of the causes of inflation? What are the other sources of inflation?
3. Why has BYuT changed its stance towards constitutional reform from a supporter of a presidential system in 2004 to a parliamentary system in 2008 (while the president has changed from supporting a parliamentary system in 2004 to a presidential system in 2008)? Most former communist systems that are successful democracies have adopted parliamentary systems.
4. Most commentaries and Western officials believe it was a mistake for BYuT to not permit the president to give his annual speech in parliament? Do you agree?
5. For the first four months of your government the prime minister ignored daily (unconstitutional) attacks from the presidential secretariat. Do you now believe that your ignoring of these attacks was the right strategy for the government to adopt?
6. What is the source of the different approach to RosUkrEnergo on the part of Yushchenko and Tymoshenko?
7. The commonly held view in Ukraine and the West is that the Vanco contract is commercially bad for Ukraine and that three of its investors are non-transparent or linked in a corrupt manner to the Yanukovych government. At the same time, there is widespread Western concern that contracts should be renegotiated in private rather than as in the Vanco case at press conferences. Do you believe it is right to conduct government business in such a manner?
8. Politics everywhere is a ruthless business. Why then, do you still harbour illusions over Yushchenko when he has constantly attempted to undermine yourself, BYuT, your government and its policies over the last four years? Do you and BYuT really have anything in common with Yushchenko?
9. With the majority of the Our Ukraine-Self Defence bloc disinterested in a coalition with the Party of Regions there are only two paths open for Ukraine: continued ‘chaos’ and ‘bezvladdia’ (as you say) or pre-term elections. Why do you not issue an ultimatum to the president to choose between removing the main source of Ukraine’s instability – Baloga – or for Ukraine to have pre-term parliamentary elections?
10. Do you believe that there is a gender factor in the president’s long-term inability to work with you?
One Response to “Ten Questions to Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko”
These so-called questions to Tymoshenko already have the answers included in them just as the questions to Yushchenko were accusations.
So working backwards from the last one:
10. It’s just because Yulia is a woman and it’s well known that Ukranian males are bigots and that includes Yush. Never mind that he has other woman co-workers including the secretary of the NDC.
9. Baloga is the problem and not Yulia or her shaky coalition and her problem for example of not being able to reward all her followers simultaneously. In any case doesn’t the constitution specifiy no elections within a year. If would be a very convincing ulitimatum. And moreover just what the country needs more elections and another approx 50/50 split or even Yanuk winning.
8. Yush is a traitor who’s betrayed the revolution and Yulia is its saviour if only Yush and Balogo would spike her all the time.
7, Everyone agrees that the Vanco contract is corrupt, except for example the American Ambassador who spoke out publically against its unilatiral cancellation. A strong move for a diplomat.
6. Everyone knows that Yush’s brother’s collecting a coupon from the deal and in any case Yush doesn’t really care about corruption unlike Yulia. Lets just ignore the fact that it’s now become absolutely clear that this mediator was a Russian take it or leave demand.
5. All comments on the government’s performance were completely unjustified attacks and not, unlike this journalist’s comments, critisicms which turned out to be correct.
4. Of course I don’t agree. See comment 5 above. These attacks couldn’t go on.
3. Of course Ukraine would be better with a Parliamentary system. The President would make a great ceremonial figure and have more time for bees and children. Again let’s ignore all problems with the functioning of the RADA which is manned by people chosen by god knows what criteria on closed party lists and who represent competing big business interests and almost nothing else.
2. There are many sources of inflation, very easy to name but inflation has jumped since Yulia became PM just as in her first term of office positive economic growth turned into no growth and even negative growth. First get the economy right.
1. Because Yush (with all his 8% popularity) and the secretariat supported him. Depite Kuzio’s prediction in EDM that BYUT would win they lost and for such a supposedly brilliant politician the whole move was a complete failure. Yulia also has this habit of naming specific individuals as guilty. In a genuine democracy the PM is not supposed to publically determine who is guilty of violating the law and who is not. That’s the job of the courts and the police. What would be the outcry if for example Bush started declairing named business and policical opponents to be criminals and using political means (eg: voting combinations in the RADA) to get rid of them?
Finally I’m anon because I’m really an anon. My name would be just as anonymous.
By anon on Jul 2, 2008