Holding an election campaign in Ukraine during the month of August is about as sensible as hosting a nudist convention at the North Pole. With Kyiv’s streets, universities and office blocks all but deserted during the month’s annual summertime mass exodus, any evidence of partisan party politics has been thin on the ground to say the least. In a land where political apathy has evolved into something akin to a sixth sense it takes an awful lot at the best of times to awaken the interest of the general population, so it is hardly surprising that an August campaign set against a backdrop of clannish infighting and empty posturing should have garnered so little attention.
Bearing in mind that the Orange Revolution only erupted once the opposition leader had been poisoned half to death, the national media cowed into submission and the most blatant vote-rigging episode in modern European history witnessed by the entire world, it is no surprise at all that nobody in particular has been paying great attention to the various wrangles and suspect rulings that have dominated the electioneering this time around.
But now the real business begins and it is a certainty that we’re all going to get more than our fill of politicking over the next frenzied month of sabre rattling, whether we want it or not. As the newly installed editor of Business Ukraine, it is my job to bring you the most insightful coverage of the campaign without boring anyone to tears in the process. This is not by any means an easy task, given the profound cynicism engendered by the betrayals and fraudulence that dominate the Ukrainian parliamentary scene, but I will do my best. Some readers would no doubt ask what the point is in even trying, given the apparent immunity the Ukrainian economy has built up to political crises over the past few years. After all, very few businesses appear to have been negatively effected over the past six months of alleged national meltdown and the investment climate has stayed positively sunny despite the dire warnings of doom from various charlatan party leaders.
Nevertheless, it remains vital that attentions do not stray too far from the electoral process over the next five weeks, however sickening the antics may become. Disillusionment with the current political elite, no matter how richly justified, threatens to lead to a very poor turnout come election day, with the very real danger that the vast majority of decent Ukrainians may decide they want no part in the whole farce.
While this is quite understandable in itself, it would nevertheless serve to open the way for the less progressive elements of society and allow them to march through the unguarded gates of Ukrainian democracy straight into power. There can be little doubt that the nation’s army of disgruntled pensioners can be relied upon to use their votes, while the legions of industrial and mining workers in the Donbass region will probably be offered little choice on the matter other than blanket participation. It would be a genuine tragedy if these segments of society were allowed to dictate to a majority that has decided that it simply couldn’t be bothered.
This is the harsh reality that anyone considering an election boycott must consider. Such people would also do well to bear in mind that the end result of political apathy is rampant corruption and increasingly unrestrained criminality, as anyone who lived through the Kuchma years has no excuse for forgetting.
