Ukraine in the run-up to the elections

Konrad Schuller finds it surprising that so far the election campaign has gone without incident. He notes that Viktor Yanukovych and his "Party of Regions" have refrained from sabotaging the campaign and even sought reconciliation with the pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko. "Whether the current ceasefire will continue after the elections will depend on whether the Western camp surrounding Yushchenko manages to satisfy the pro-Eastern oligarchy's desire for security for its dubiously amassed fortunes without surrendering to the late-Soviet power reflexes still strong within the 'Party of Regions'. This attempt may fail because the vote-riggers and warmongers in Yanukovych's camp still wield considerable influence. Nonetheless, the calm of the past months has at least shown that the attempt is not necessarily doomed to failure."

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