One Hand Clapping

I've just watched Yulia Tymoshenko's performance at the pre-election debate at which her rival failed to show up (you can watch the debate here: http://www.tymoshenko.ua/uk/article/debaty-vybory-2010) and I can't understand how anybody could fail to be impressed by her. Most countries can only dream of having such a leader. She is so clearly intelligent, well-educated, articulate, sincere, courageous, resolute, visionary and wholly committed to the wellbeing and advancement of her nation and people. And she has a plan, a very good one, for bringing order and prosperity to all Ukrainians. She has outlined her platform in detail here: http://www.tymoshenko.ua/uk/page/programa-tymoshenko-vybory-2010. Please read it.

Is anyone really surprised? Probably directives from Russia were to not let him debate Ms. Tymoshenko as he would be totally outclassed.

Greg Feifer and RFE/RL are not even pretending to have any journalistic objectivity in covering this election. This piece is just another opportunity to recycle the old smears - in quote form - against Yanukovich that have been circulating for the entire campaign.

Yet Feifer here conveniently fails to quote any Lviv residents (i have plenty among my own acquaintances) who believe that Tymoshenko is a thinly-disguised vassal of Vladimir Putin who is spouting empty, insincere rhetoric that has no relation to her true agenda.

Yanukovich lies less and he is not as cynical as Tymoshenko.

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Sociopathic Mudslinging

Taking shots at either candidate seems a bit juvenile at this point. Yanukovych has accused his rival of using militants from Georgia, Poland, and Lithuania disguised as observers and that he has informed the proper authorities, those being the border service, the Ukrainian Security Service and the Foreign Ministry. He added "The response is up to the current authorities... otherwise, there will be a call to arms to show them what the Ukrainian people are." He went on to suggest the matter should be discussed at the National Security and Defense Council within 48 hours. Dropping the bar even lower, he has been quoted as saying "Tymoshenko at the moment is in a difficult psychological state and again she is trying to find a way of falsifying the election..." as well as, "..., and if she is to be treated as a woman, let her demonstrate her whims in the kitchen."

For her part, Tymoshenko has just as absurdly accused Yanukovych of preparing to take power by force via any means. She has suggested the polling stations are already rigged through last minute changes to the electoral law which she notes are, "the end of fair elections in Ukraine," while describing that, "This has been done because Yanukovych does not believe in his victory and he wants to get a result only through falsification." She goes on with "And around Kiev, all the holiday centers are full of fighters who are ready to take power using any means." She added "As in 2004, we are going to put (Yanukovych) in his place in a severe manner and he will never get power in Ukraine, whatever the circumstances."

Tymoshenko was not to miss out on alerting the proper-authorities-bandwagon either. She said she had invited the ambassadors from the Group of Eight countries to an urgent meeting. She went further in saying she would invite the ambassadors of all the countries that are represented in the Ukraine over the new electoral law.

Note that international poll monitors said the first round of voting last month was clean.

Though I personally do not wish to see Mr. Yanukovych win the election, it is, however, of the utmost importance to use prudent journalism, i.e., impartiality. I believe Mr. Feiffer fails miserably in that regard, hence my, hopefully a bit fairer and more informative, appended "article."

Steve Valencia

Yanukovych's camp took the safest bet. With a clear desire in saving political points, avoiding Tymoshenko was obviously the superior strategy. It's called self-preservation. Yanukovych wouldn't exactly score high on the: hey, let's do a nationally televised debate against a highly educated, voraciously media-centric, sharp tongued adversary.

Yanukovych has a 10 point lead, has a bad reputation of being outclassed in previous debates and often struggles in speaking Ukrainian, his mother tongue being Russian. And politically, he's easy game; his foreign and domestic policy has neither been well-defined nor always properly articulated.

Where's the surprise?

Mr. Feifer seems to mildly suggest this was a sensation. Not so according to the Ukrainian press. It was widely known that Mr. Yanukovych, who prefers scripted set-pieces, would skip the televised presidential debate. In fact, it was already stated from his campaign team and widely publicized in the Ukraine. Albeit it marked an about-face, Yanukovych’s Party of Regions deputy head Hanna Herman had previously confirmed in a December 29th posting on Yanukovych’s Party of Regions web site that he would debate Prime Minister Tymoshenko. However, Hanna later publicly noted that it was not necessary for Yanukovych to address Tymoshenko in a televised debate, stating “There is nothing for Victor Fedorovych [Yanukovych] to talk about with Tymoshenko," and "Viktor Yanukovych does not wish to compete with [Tymoshenko] in a contest of beautiful lies."

That however did play beautifully into Tymoshenko's hands. Is a candidate who cannot face an adversary on national TV ready to lead a country? Considering the Ukraine’s push toward EU integration, is this candidate who is self-prescribed as pro-European, as well as Russo-centric, ready to face the intense drilling from debates that are commonly required in the EU? After all, Yanukovych offered as an excuse on his playing debate-hooky, he “wasn’t trained as an artist,” so he would not participate “as a matter of principle.” As well as, “It’s not my profession." During the solo TV debate, Tymoshenko was quick to pronounce, “I do not want a common coward to become the next leader of our nation." This also gave Deputy Prime Minister Hryhoriy Nemyrya, one of Tymoshenko's closest advisers, a chance to blast out with, "There are no debates in countries that are authoritarian and where there is no free speech."

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