Yanukovych's hard road to victory
07/02/201021:39
Viktor Yanukovych, who believes Ukraine's presidency was unfairly taken away from him five years ago, has, according to exit polls, staged a comeback after his 2004 defeat.
However, unlike the previous presidential election when his rival was incumbent President Viktor Yushchenko, in the February 7 presidential runoff Yanukovych, 59, faced a far more sophisticated rival - Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, Yushchenko's ally in the 2004 "Orange revolution."
In the 2004 election, the situation was developing in favor of Yanukovych, a prime minister and a protege of then president Leonid Kuchma, who until then was governor of the eastern Ukraine coal-rich Donbas region.
Until street protests in 2004 staged by Yushchenko's supporters, no one had doubts about Yanukovych's victory. However, a different fate awaited him. Yushchenko refused to recognize the election results, a move backed by the West. As a result of a revote of the runoff, Yanukovych lost to Yushchenko.
During the first months after the 2004 election, Yanukovych was not mentioned frequently as the winners of the "Orange revolution" were busy striking "power-sharing deals," the opposition was "licking its wounds" while the people reaped the fruits of economic growth, looking condescendingly at the fussing elite.
However, the first post-revolutionary sociological poll unexpectedly showed that the rating of Yanukovych who was regarded by some as a lost politician measured 20%, which was more than anyone could expect.
Inspired Yanukovych managed to quickly return to politics and his Party of Regions won the larger part of votes at the 2006 parliamentary elections. Since then, the party led by Yanukovych has been the largest political force in Ukraine.
No one had doubts that Yanukovych would try to reclaim victory over his defeat in 2004. However, this time his rival was Tymoshenko, a charismatic politician rather than Yushchenko who was quickly losing his popularity.
It was much more difficult for Yanukovych to compete with Tymoshenko than with Yushchenko. Tymoshenko has swift reaction and enviable eloquences - something that Yanukovych lacks.
In the course of the latest campaign, Yanukovych had to fight back opponents, who were reminding voters of his two past convictions over criminal charges - both of them were formally withdrawn later - and telling them that the West will not recognize the rebound hopeful as a legitimate president.
Striking back, Yanukovych has promised to the Ukrainians, many of whom feel fatigue from economic and political chaos which followed the "Orange revolution", to restore stability. However he was always careful enough not to give too concrete promises.
Yanukovych now faces a tough job of delivering on hopes of Ukrainians who voted for him. He will have to immediately outline solutions to problems in the urge to improve the living standards damaged by the global economic crisis.
Otherwise he risks losing positions in parliament in the next polls due in 2012 and possibly faces the sad fate of outgoing president Yushchenko.
