Taras Kuzio’s Blog

Unbecoming Actions by a President

President Yushchenko’s attacks on his government when he travels abroad have become routine. Recently these have included attacks on the government in interviews given to Spanish, French, Polish and Canadian newspapers. Such attacks discredit Ukraine’s international image and Yushchenko himself.

Heads of state do not attack their governments, even if they are in opposition to them, when traveling abroad. This is a practice that would be seen as beneath the dignity of any European and Western leader. The washing of one’s dirty laundry in public would also be seen as unpatriotic.

A second action that is unbecoming is hiding from photographers. Tymoshenko attended the October 2007 Lisbon meeting of the European Peoples Party (EPP) despite Yushchenko’s wish that she refrain from going. Both the Fatherland Party and Our Ukraine are associate members of the EPP.

During the final photograph session EPP President Wilfried Martens wanted to be photographed with both Ukrainian orange leaders and EPP members.

Tymoshenko agreed but Yushchenko did not. The President and Baloga instead hid in the basement of the building where the EPP meeting had taken place in order not to be photographed with Tymoshenko.

This took place in October 2007 during negotiations to create an orange coalition that would return Tymoshenko to government.

What signal does Yushchenko’s refusal to be photographed with Tymoshenko send to both the EPP, the EU (which was to hold a meeting after the EPP in Lisbon) and Western governments? What signal does it also send to Ukrainian voters and to their orange coalition partners, BYuT?

Ukraine’s leaders should learn how to act when traveling abroad.

Criticising their government in foreign media interviews and hiding from photographers only damage Ukraine’s and the president’s international reputation.