NOWY KURS PREZYDENTA UKRAINY

Abstract

The New Policy Adopted by Ukraine’s PresidentSummaryThis article discusses the changes in Ukrainian policy since the beginning of Petro Poroshenko’s presidency. Poroshenko, the winner ofUkraine’s presidential election of 25th May 2014, launched his campaign with the slogan “A New Lifestyle” – patently inspired by FranklinD. Roosevelt’s New Deal. The way the new President and government ofUkraine have been exercising power shows that they intend to pursuea long-term policy for the enhancement of the Ukrainian economy bymeans of neoliberal instruments, such as, for example, the privatisation of inefficiently managed state entities, the liberalisation of pricesand tariffs, a war on corruption, the implementation of decentralisingmeasures, the removal of administrative barriers, and support for medium and small businesses. The author observes a similarity betweenRoosevelt’s New Deal and Poroshenko’s New Lifestyle, particularly inthe latter’s endeavour to cope with a deep political and economic crisis.His efforts are being backed by the nation’s support, despite the inauspicious conditions. The author also notes that the armed conflict inEastern Ukraine is an additional factor aggravating efficient governmentand the implementation of reforms. There is a potential for a change inthe traditional rationale splitting Ukraine along an east—west divide,due to the fact that Poroshenko, who has the reputation of a moderate,won more votes in the traditionally nationalist Western Ukraine, thanin Eastern Ukraine, where his lead in the election over radical andnationalist candidates was substantially narrower. The author is of theopinion that this development offers a prospect for a reorientation inthe hitherto bipolar division in Ukrainian society. The biggest challenge facing Ukraine’s new President and government is political andfinancial decentralisation. The author draws a comparison betweenUkraine’s current situation and the French Republic, which is a unitary,centralised, and monocentric state. To stabilise the situation in Ukraine, Poroshenko will need to normalise the country’s relations with theRussian Federation, which in view of Russia’s annexation of Crimea andthe Russian military intervention in Eastern Ukraine, will call for a fargreater effort than what was expected of his predecessors.