KIEV: The thousands of people who took to the streets of Ukraine’s capital two years ago to bring about the “Orange Revolution” could be forgiven for asking: “Why did we bother?”
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, faced down by an opposition majority in parliament, on Thursday proposed the man he defeated in the 2004 revolution Viktor Yanukovich as prime minister.
Yanukovich is a pro-Moscow politician with close ties to big business and he shares few of the Western-leaning and reforming ideals of the revolution.
In particular, he does not share Yushchenko’s enthusiasm for taking Ukraine into Nato and the European Union.
Yushchenko said he had extracted written guarantees from his rival that as prime minister he would not try to derail market reforms or integration with Europe, though he gave no specifics.
Much will depend on whether the president manages to install his allies in key posts in a Yanukovich government.
“It is so disappointing,” said Valentina, a hotel receptionist in Kiev. She fought back tears after hearing Yanukovich was to be prime minister. “With our own hands ... we have handed power to the very man we fought against.”
“We think our president has betrayed the very people that elected him,” said Dmitry Dozhuk, 47.
A large part of Ukraine did not support the revolution. Most people in the Russian-speaking heartlands in the South and East of the country backed Yanukovich.
The “Orange Revolution” quickly lost its lustre once its architects were in power.
Bitter infighting broke out between Yushchenko and his first prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko. Economic growth faltered, and people who hoped for quick improvements in living standards became disillusioned.
Months of indecision and bickering in the “Orange” camp after an inconclusive March parliamentary election further discredited them in the eyes of many voters.
But many observers say the revolution has left an indelible mark on Ukraine.
The media is vibrant and unafraid to criticise politicians. That is a marked change from before 2004 when aides to former President Leonid Kuchma would try to dictate to journalists how to report events.
Even Yanukovich has changed. A gruff politician who had little time for the media, he has undergone coaching from Western consultants to make him more telegenic.
And since the revolution, Ukraine has conducted two national elections that were bitterly fought, but largely clean. Previous votes were marred by allegations of ballot-rigging.
“Voters have learned that power and accountability come out of the ballot box,” wrote Carlos Pascual, a former US ambassador to Ukraine now with the Brookings Institution think-tank.
“In championing the ability of the people to challenge leaders through an opposition movement, the Orange Revolution secured a future for political opposition,” he said.
Underlining how far Ukraine had come, Yanukovich said on Wednesday the events of 2004 “were of benefit to everyone.” He added: “People came out onto the streets with a huge desire to change their lives for the better.”—Reuters
