I have finally decided to approach Eastern European subject in a consistent manner. Balancing between writer’s block and a writing bug, I have started to collect thoughts, news and ideas here.
This week has seen the results of Ukrainian parliamentary elections. It has also shed the light on the Russian presidential elections puzzle. Exciting times in both countries made me eagerly anticipate a book from one of the close observers which will undoubtedly come out in a few years.
Ukraine: Now then, Yulia Timoshenko has taken the majority in the parliament and the current president Victor Yushschenko came last. So they will inevitably have to try to make “the marriage” work again. Timoshenko’s beautifully staged election campaign had all the elements of the Orange Revolution: mistreatment (a struggle of Timoshenko’s party to register for the upcoming elections), branding (clever combination of words Believe and Yulia in верЮ ) and a distinct look of the party leader. Uncompromising war on crime and corruption, announced by Timoshenko, perhaps didn’t win her many supporters. It is possible though, that anti-Russian well-wishers have financed her campaign, as there was a disagreement of the misspending of the money between Yushschenko and the Russian tycoon in exile Boris Berezovsky.
In Russia in the mean time, the guesswork of the political analysts have been eased out by the announcement of Mr. Putin to run for the post of prime minister after his term as a President of Russia expires in 2008. For those who wish to speculate further here is a tricky question: what will happen if the newly elected president of Russia as of March 2008 will suffer from the ill health?
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Tags: Eastern Europe, parliamentary elections, Russia, Ukraine
