5/04/2005

Yushenko's First 100 Days

Lengthy Post on Publius regarding the conclusion of Yushenko's first 100 days in office. I wish they would have referenced this editorial from the Kyiv Post a bit more in their posting though. On the ground here it does seem like there's been a lot of talk and not much in the way of action. It's all well and good (and true) to say that you can't expect lasting reforms and changes to be made overnight. However, there are basic things that can be done quite easily by Executive Decree (like lifting visa requirements for travel) that just aren't being done. Visa requirements were able to be lifted temporarily for EU passport holders coming to Ukraine for Eurovision...why can't that simply be made permanent? Another thing the Publius poster forgets to mention is that part of the deal Yushenko made prior to his innaguration was that many of the powers held by the Ukrainian President would be transferred to the Ukrainian Rada (Parliament) in September of this year. Once that happens, it'll be even harder to push through reforms. And if those powers aren't transferred it'll just make the Orange Revolution look like a pure power grab to the people in the east he still needs to win over. Clock's ticking...