Victor Yanukovych, the fourth President of Ukraine, was elected by us in 2010. Four years later, a year before the end of his five-year term, he fled to Russia. A few months later, we elected Petro Poroshenko to take his place. Two years have passed, and yesterday at a press conference Yanukovych, responding to a question from an RIA Novosti correspondent, suggested “to ask the Ukrainian people how they assess the current Ukrainian government,” clearly hinting at the high trust of the people in himself. The people, namely us, are his main hope. And he is not mistaken.
I am more than sure that if a poll were conducted today, Yanukovych’s trust rating would be higher than any other Ukrainian politician (perhaps with the exception of Saakashvili).
And it’s not just about Yanukovych personally. When he was in power, shortly before the Euromaidan, his rating steadily declined. Now, I am sure, it is steadily rising. And this recent press conference is very likely one of his first steps in preparing to return to Ukrainian politics.
He is not mistaken, he will have no competitors.
How do we remember Viktor Fedorovich? With corruption, lack of freedom of speech, Tymoshenko behind bars, and… GDP growth, an average pension of $185, and a hryvnia exchange rate of 8.00 throughout his entire five-year term.
Machiavelli believed that “men are more likely to forgive the murder of their father than the loss of their inheritance” (The Prince, Chapter XVII). Yes, we were deprived of rights and freedoms, but, as you can see, we were well fed. Now the average pension is $75 and the hryvnia exchange rate is more than three times lower. In other words, we are poorly fed, and forgiving this to the authorities is much more difficult for us than murders of journalists or corruption in utilities and courts.
I think this may be enough for us to choose Yanukovych for a new term.
Translated by ChatGPT gpt-3.5-turbo/42 on 2024-04-20 at 14:31
