By reconsidering the role of the state as an instrument of service to the people, we will be able to make Ukraine great, Ukrainian MP Oleksandr Feldman is sure.
The special attention in Ukraine was paid to the inauguration of the 45th President of the United States Donald Trump. Hundreds of politicians, who not so long ago insulted the candidate Trump openly, paid dozens of thousands dollars to be present at the ceremony. Everyone expected to hear some signals for Ukraine in the speech of American President.
Of course, there were no direct answers and mentions of Ukraine or Russia. Indirectly, Trump made it clear that the ‘republican isolationism’ doctrine stipulates the reduction of the programmes of assistance and investments for the other countries. On the other hand, Ukrainians should not worry about this. Only politicians and ‘grant-aided public activists’ started to worry, as they drew this ‘aid’ for years.
Nevertheless, the speech of the new US President was rather directed at Americans, than at the world. But it contained enough ideas, which are extremely topical for today’s Ukraine.
1. “We will return the country to the people” a slogan used by Ukrainian communists during the elections in 2012. It appeared to be very consonant with Trump’s speech. It is important not only to transfer the power from one party to another, but to transfer it from the capital to the people. 2017 must become a year of real decentralization for Ukraine, and we should not take the central authorities on trust, as they voluntarily transfer only expenditures, not the powers.
2. “A nation exists to serve its citizens. What truly matters is not which party controls our government, but whether our government is controlled by the people.” The rhetoric of our authorities has recently been filled with many traditionally Soviet phrases, like “the state will pay for subsidies with own money,” “the state guarantees a minimum wages of 3,200…”
By frank manipulations (like “own money of the state”), the format of subordination of the citizens to the state is established. People serve the state, which controls and regulates all fields of public life. Even our nationalists say “Ukraine is above all!” instead of ‘Ukrainians.’ The ‘production’ of these patterns of ‘mental slavery’ is advantageous for any authority. But only by reconsidering the role of the state as an instrument of service to the people, we will be able to make Ukraine great.
3. “Americans want great schools for their children, safe neighborhoods for their families, and good jobs for themselves.” Trump tells about the priorities of the state policy, which will allow overcoming a key enemy – poverty. This contrasts so much with the rhetoric of Ukrainian authorities, where the key enemy is not poverty, but Putin, and the priorities are the allocation of more money for the Wall project and a new billion loan from the IMF on any terms.
Education is the direct investment in the future. However, in our country it is the second-rate issue of the ‘humanitarian range of issues.’ The maintenance of security and law and order is the main task of the state. It our country, no one is responsible for the constant rise in crime: allegedly, the authorities make everything properly, while something wrong is with the people, and therefore, it is getting more and more dangerous on the streets every day.
What is the state’s strategy of struggle against unemployment? Apparently, first, they make people part-time workers due to the absence of orders at “new markets,” and then they make hundreds of private entrepreneurs jobless, and the others are just prohibited to reduce the number of staff. However, it is impossible to restore the economy with prohibitions.
So, despite the fact that the word ‘Ukraine’ was not in Trump’s speech, it gave Ukrainians something to think about. Only time will show, whether the words and the deeds of the new US President coincide, but I consider that his plan of the restoration of the greatness of his country is effective and universal, and therefore suitable for us as well.
