“Hypocrisy on the march”

The Institute of International Relations of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv hosted a public lecture delivered by former Prime Minister of the UK David Cameron, its theme being Ukraine’s Place in a Changing World. Former leaders of top nations often deliver such lectures in Kyiv. However, this case is notable for several reasons.

Firstly, Cameron’s lecture was held on the same day when Theresa May-led British government started the procedure of leaving the EU. In turn, it was necessitated by the decision to take the UK out of the EU which was passed in a referendum on June 23 past year, which was initiated precisely by Cameron who served as head of government and campaigned to keep the British in the EU.

Secondly, Cameron never visited Ukraine while serving as British prime minister. Due to that, he is hardly qualified to dispense expert advice so that “Ukraine could become a global success story,” as he noted in his speech.

And thirdly, Ukraine has often seen former world leaders coming here and talking about the problem of corruption. Thus, there was nothing surprising in Cameron’s words that “the level of corruption in Ukraine is absolutely unacceptable, and it is the cancer that is killing the country, and the situation is critical here.” The same points were emphasized, in particular, by former US Vice President Joseph Biden during his visit to Ukraine. What is notable in this case, however, is the fact that the former British prime minister arrived in this country at the invitation of the oligarch Pinchuk, who amassed his fortune through dubious means. Not least of them was becoming the son-in-law of president Leonid Kuchma, whom he is now whitewashing by organizing various forums both in this country and abroad.

Myroslava Gongadze offered a perceptive remark on it on Facebook: “I terribly ‘like’ it when former world leaders talk about how unacceptable corruption in Ukraine is, even as they come to forums and sit next to the oligarchs who profited from that corruption. It is hypocrisy on the march.”