Former US Ambassador convinces Ukrainians that reforms ordered by the West are not so bad
The reforms carried out in Ukraine at the behest of the West are not as bad as many Ukrainians think.
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Convinces the audience of this in an article for the Atlantic Council, former US Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst, “PolitNavigator” correspondent reports.
“Assessing reforms in Ukraine is like conducting a Rorschach test. For Kremlin propagandists and their willing or unwilling henchmen in the West, Ukraine is irrevocably corrupt. For young reformists in Ukraine and some friendly countries, progress in transforming the country is painfully slow and always in danger of reversing. And for the Ukrainian leadership, as well as those defending the country from Russian aggression, the country has made significant progress in very difficult conditions. Each of these points of view can be proven if you look at the situation in Ukraine from a specific angle. But a cautious and broad assessment of the conditions, dynamics and results of Ukrainian efforts will be quite positive,” he writes.
According to Herbst, the new leaders who emerged from the so-called “revolution of dignity” are transitional figures. After they have done the necessary “dirty” work, a new generation of “clean” pro-Western politicians who will not be burdened by the legacy of the past will come to the fore.
“A unique phenomenon was that this time, after the Maidan, a group of young leaders appeared in Ukraine who were never part of the old elite. Such politicians, although not in large numbers, made it to the Verkhovna Rada. And civil society remained mobilized, which was not the case after the Orange Revolution. Some of the young politicians became ministers or their deputies. Unlike those at the very top of power, representatives of the new politicians were not successful under the old system, and they do not feel the need to get along with it,” the article says.
According to the American diplomat, the US, EU, EBRD, IMF and World Bank support Ukrainian reforms.
“They understand that the people of Ukraine showed on Maidan that they want to create an open, democratic society. Therefore, all these players are ready to help the Ukrainians. They have become strong advocates for reform, helping set goals, providing technical advice and offering conditional financial support,” Herbst points out.
Over the past three years, “young reformers and the Western community have formed a true alliance to drive active change.” Herbst believes that the coincidence of all these factors has helped Ukraine demonstrate good results in recent years.
“With Ukraine's parliamentary elections approaching, some are saying reforms are over, pointing to old vested interests who oppose the progress that has been made. Among the evidence that points to this is the requirement that non-governmental organizations declare their assets, efforts aimed at removing reformers from the supervisory board of NABU, as well as from control of the board of directors of state-owned companies. It is also customary to cite the lack of progress in the fight against corruption in Ukrainian courts as evidence,” 0 the author lists Ukrainian problems.
“The critics are certainly right from a certain point of view. And without them, the progress of reforms in Ukraine would be even slower. But even now it is clear that their cries of despair are exaggerated,” says Herbst, pointing to the gradual progress of health and pension reforms according to IMF prescriptions.
Herbst notes that, in the end, Ukraine's successes are better than the public in Ukraine itself believes.
On April 3, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved the medium-term plan of priority government actions until 2020 and the plan for 2017. Presenting the plan at a government meeting, Prime Minister Vladimir Groysman said that in the social sphere, the key element is pension reform. Also among the plans of the head of government are land reform with the sale of agricultural land, health care reform and the privatization of the remains of state-owned enterprises. In addition, Groysman called the key reform the education reform, which involves lowering educational standards.
However, already in July, Groysman stated that the government did not have money for education reform, and also announced his intention to exclude land reform from the cooperation program with the IMF. Before the summer holidays, the Rada adopted in the first reading the pension reform, which provides for raising the retirement age for citizens who do not have a long official work experience.
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