Tammy Lynch from the Institute for the Study of Conflict, Ideology and Policy emailed me an article of hers entitled Time for Yushchenko to Step Up. It’s a very detailed, well-researched article that is incredibly relevant because of its critical look at the parliamentary battle over WTO legislation.

Last week, Ukraine????s parliament (Verkhovna Rada) rejected a number of measures that would have brought the country????s trade regulations in line with international norms and that would have moved the country closer to meeting the requirements for World Trade Organization (WTO) entry. The bills included two ????make or break???? issues: the United States is demanding that Ukraine tighten copyright and piracy laws before it will consent to its WTO entry, and Australia has stated that without the adjustment of domestic Sugar quotas, it will not support Ukraine????s request to enter the trade organization. Parliament refused to undertake either of these reforms. (1) Although negotiations with the government over re-votes continue, the rejections make it extremely difficult for Ukraine to complete its preparations for WTO entry this year.

This parliamentary action invites questions not only about Ukraine????s future economic policy, but also about the ability of Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko to fulfill his promises to investors, foreign governments and international organizations. These votes disturbingly call into question Yushchenko????s ability to influence members of his own political party, as well as members of allied parties. On more than one occasion, had all members of Yushchenko????s own party voted in support of a WTO-related bill, it would have passed. But they did not.

Legislators are even breaking out in brawls over it. One of the problems, as you will read, is that members of Yushchenko’s own party are either not voting or voting against the legislation. Of course, parliamentary elections — which will likely be heavy to his favor — will not be conducted in 2006, meaning Yushchenko must work with a string of part-time convenient allies.

Yuschenko’s biggest problem, however, has been his hands-off approach to government policy. This is unfortunate because he has a very pro-market and pro-investment philosophy. Because of this, instead of setting policy, he has served as a more corrective function to Yulia Tymoshenko’s mismanaged populist tendencies.

The biggest example of this was her response to rising gasoline prices. She blamed the rise on a Russian conspiracy due to their virtual monopoly. True, the Russians corner much of the market, but the Yushchenko response would have been to diversify sources of energy. The Yulia response was to input a price ceiling, which caused the oil companies to back off Ukraine altogether, resulting in kilometres of lines at the pumps. When meeting with the heads of the Russian oil companies, Yuschenko publicly scolded her in front of them, though she later said it was necessary so he could assert his authority.

A similar move was instituted on beef prices. The ceilings had to go.

Also recall back to the struggle with reprivatization of corrupt deals made under Kuchma’s oligarch government. Tymoshenko wanted to review up to 3000 different businesses, but Yushchenko had to step in and revise that number down to 30 for fear that it would scare off foreign investment. Several months later and the issue still hasn’t been resolved.

This is about more than just the WTO, but Tymoshenko’s ability and Yushchenko’s willingness to govern the country well in a time when it needs it most. In September, Yushchenko’s presidential powers will shrink due to constitutional amendments passed in December that will give more power to the parliament still housed by remnants of the oligarchic past. This means that his biggest chance for change, in a time where he still has some post-revolutionary glow, is quickly wearing off.

The period after a democratic revolution is generally the most volatile, so there isn’t time to lose. Yushchenko needs to step up, whip his party into line, and take control of his job for the betterment of the country. He may also have a tough decision ahead of him with the upcoming parliamentary election. Will he keep or drop Yulia? At this point, the latter may be the sad but needed necessity.