Returning Empty-Handed

Sunday’s “Epicenter” (1+1) with Vyacheslav Pikhovshek was something of a treat as three members of Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko’s delegation to Washington were asked pointed questions by journalists about what, if anything, they had accomplished.

“Let’s stop pretending,” began “Snidanok z 1+1” host (and my former student, I can proudly add) Yevhen Hlibovytsky and went on to grill the distinguished gentlemen about just why they had gone in the first place.

“We didn’t go to ask for money,” one replied and began to talk about “renewing the relationship with the US and IMF.”

“Oh, you went to make friends again...,” said Hlibovytsky, not without a touch of well-deserved sarcasm.

The point is that, while everybody made nice-nice in the public part Washington talks, with the IMF stating that The Financial Times revelations about past kiting of National Bank reserves really was technical and not relevant to any future decision about whether to renew the EEF loan program Ukraine needs so badly to stay afloat, everybody was also clear that no decision had been made, nor would one be made until Ukraine’s reform government pushes through some real reform, of which as yet precious little has been seen.

The impression was that Washington wants the Yushchenko Cabinet to succeed and accomplish real reforms, most of which requires approval in Verkhovna Rada, which has degenerated into a sort of club of special interests doing quite nicely the way things are. Obviously, this will take some pretty serious lobbying backed by strong presidential support, and so far there is little evidence that this is happening. One can only guess what the Ukrainian delegates were told behind closed doors, but a pretty good guess is that they were told that Washington is not going to subsidize Ukraine’s kleptocracy without some serious reform, and you’ll get the money when we see some results. This was the right thing for the West to do. Now, can Viktor Yushchenko actually accomplish what is expected of him? Few of those in power really seem to want him to, so I still consider him an underdog. But rooting for the underdog is an old American tradition.