Seeking Reformers in Ukraine
» November 25th, 2009 10:41 am by Aleksandr ShkolnikovWhat makes a good reformer? In many countries, it seems, populist promises are enough. Lay out an agenda, criticize your opponents, make enough TV appearances – what else a politician needs?
The problem with personality politics, however, is that it focuses too much on an individual and too little on concrete steps, actions, policies, and changes. This was one of the key lessons of Eastern European transitions after the fall of the Wall – if you want to be successful, you must put politics aside, and implement painful and oftentimes unpopular but necessary reforms.
This is the lesson Ukraine needs to take to heart, as Marc Schleifer and I argue in this op-ed in Kyiv Post.
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