Yanukovich is Ukraine has always been popular in the eastern part of the country. Timoshenko's base is in central Ukraine. Yuschenko's only support base is among the Ukrainian nationalists in Galicia who want to join Poland, which is why he made Bandera a Hero of Ukraine as his last move in office, because that has resonance in that specific region The Bandera thing is actually a good example of why Yushchenko was such a fuckup. Everybody in Ukraine who doesn't live in Galicia thinks Bandera was a monster and is opposed to NATO membership, sometimes violently. Yet Yushchenko goes around making Bandera into a hero and demanding that Ukraine join NATO. That is like in the US a president making Robert E. Lee into a national hero and trying to join Mexico, roughly.
----- Original Message ---- From: James Heartfield <Heartfield at blueyonder.co.uk>
Well, in this part of the Anglosphere, they have just shut up about it. Most coverage is along the lines of 'ironically, now it is Moscow's favourite who is doing better' - but explanations as to the turnaround are non-existent, and still less so what the basis is for Moscow's and the EUs preferences. I see the election monitors all gave the result a clean bill of health. What is your take on it? ___________________________________ http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk