It is difficult to negotiate with such country. European politicians would probably like to see people with different views among their Ukrainian negotiation counterparts. Not necessarily would they play at giveaway, the main characteristic would be to espouse democratic values.
It has been long spoken about a new generation in Ukrainian politics. Over the past 20 years there appeared various political forces, projects, platforms, fronts, and new names, but the post-Soviet elite continues to rule the country the way it did before. This doesn’t mean that among those people there were no and still are no worthy ones, but they failed to change the situation in the country fundamentally. The arrival of young people into politics has two problematic aspects: first is the lack of opportunities to get into the system, the second is the quality of new politicians (something totally different). Of course, if this young team is somewhat like Chernovetsky’s (former mayor of Kyiv) team, such update for the country will have no effect (or it will be completely opposite to what is expected); but if those young people are independent, intellectually powerful, and goal-oriented people, they really have a chance. The more so today, when Ukrainian voters are looking for alternatives to current officials.
The visit of some Ukrainian politicians to Marseille was called “viewing.” Yevhenia Carr (Tymoshenko), Vitali Klitschko, Valentyn Nalyvaichenko, Natalia Korolevska, Ihor Umansky, and others were invited to the 20th Congress of European People’s Party. “European politicians were evaluating them, met them, listened to them, and tried to understand what could be the new things that this young European, non-Soviet generation of politicians in Ukraine would bring into European political process? And what would happen?” thinks political analyst Vadym Karasiov. “Politicians in Europe are well aware of the fact that today in Ukraine the last Soviet political generation is in power: people, whose experience, skills, and serving, to be exact – not serving the needs of society were formed in the Soviet times. A new society comes in their place, civic leaders, who hope to associate prosperity of their countries with the united Europe.”
It is known that the driver of reforms in Georgia was only the new generation of politicians who came to power with Mikhail Saakashvili. The latter, by the way, was present in Marseille. He discussed European prospects with French president Nicolas Sarkozy. The president of Georgia also held an informal meeting with the leader of the UDAR Party Klitschko. We had a conversation on the outcome of the meeting with Georgian political scientist Nika Chitadze:
“I think this meeting was not coincidental just like the meeting of Saakashvili and Sarkozy on the prospects of Georgia’s further integration into European structures. Apparently, not only those of Georgia, but also of Ukraine and Moldova. They most likely spoke about how to further develop relations between Georgia and Ukraine. In this case, we should emphasize Georgian experience that would contribute to Ukraine’s further advancement towards European standards.”
How efficient was the contribution of young politicians into implementing reforms in Georgia?
“They played a significant role in the implementation of reforms in Georgia. Today many representatives of the young generation work in the legislative and executive bodies of Georgia. In particular, Prime Minister of Georgia Nikovi Hilauri is 36 years old; there are also many young ministers. Here the age is not what matters the most, young Georgian politicians received Western education, so they are free from Soviet mentality, characteristic of the older generation. Thus, Western education motivates implementation of reforms of social, economic, and legal character. Saakashvili is a charismatic leader, but there is safety in numbers. He would not have been able to implement reforms without the support of young politicians. One should especially pay attention to the reforms in education and social security of population.”
To what extent are people in Georgia watching young Ukrainian politicians today?
“Many people in Georgia believe that young politicians should play a very important role in the implementation of reforms in Ukraine. After the Orange Revolution, when Viktor Yushchenko came to power with the pro-European orientation and democratic values, radical reforms were not introduced. Ukraine has a very high intellectual potential, but in time of Yushchenko’s presidency his team did not involve young intellectual people into politics. That is why reforms were blunted. However, given the high culture of the Ukrainian people, I am sure that Ukraine has every chance to draw closer to European structures.”
