“As much as 55 percent of respondents called Russia a threat to the world peace”

A large group of German journalists representing various periodicals recently visited Ukraine. Some of them, especially those from Laender that once belonged to the late German Democratic Republic, even tried to find Nazis here in Kyiv, a European diplomat and co-organizer of this trip told The Day. However, at the end of their nearly a week stay in this country, which included meetings with representatives of the EU mission in Ukraine, Ukrainian politicians, including Prime Minister Arsenii Yatseniuk and Oleh Liashko MP, and NGO representatives, their attitudes, including those of the abovementioned category of journalists, many of whom speak Russian, have changed for the better, the European diplomat reassured us. The author has managed to meet Reinhard Weser, a leading journalist of a quite popular newspaper called the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, who has visited Ukraine for years and participated in a similar trip organized by the previous leadership of this country. The Day asked the German newspaper’s political editor to share his impressions of the meetings with Ukrainian politicians and discussions he held with them, following the trip’s end.

“It is difficult to compare this trip to Ukraine to my previous ones, because things changed so radically. Last time I had been in Ukraine during the parliamentary elections in 2012. Then it was clear, that there was a big discontent with the regime, but nobody thought it could fall so soon. If I should put it into one sentence, it is a paradoxon: Now there is much more hope for real changes than in 2012, but the situation is much more hopeless.

“Yatseniuk then in 2012 didn’t make the impression that he would be able to change something – talking to him was interesting then, but it was strange. Of course he made political statements, but apart from some slogans he rather talked like a passive political analyst who is and always will be far from political power. Now he is in power, and he seems to fit to his new role. The government and the president make many mistakes (especially in communication), but the general impression is, that they have an idea what to do, and that they really want to change Ukraine. For me, one key issue now is the question, whether they can force the whole state apparatus, the bureaucracy, justice system, police to implement the reform policy. One question is whether the people in the institutions do want the changes, the next, not less important, if the have the ability to carry them out.

“Another key issue, of course, is the mood of the population. I don’t know how much realism we can expect from people who are struggling to make their daily life. That’s where Liashko (or other populists) come in. As to Liashko: good in rhethorics, but surely dangerous.

“As to Germany: The longer the crisis lasts, the less I have a feeling what average people think about it, simply because I am focused on Ukraine, and my fellow citizens are not. One significant change is the fact, that in an opinion poll some weeks ago 55 percent of the respondents said, that Russia is a danger for peace in the world – it became the second biggest threat directly after Islamic State in Iraq. Surely there are many politicians who would like to return to Business as usual in relation to Russia, but even those persons know, it is impossible. And I am sure, for our government stabilizing Ukraine is a top priority, because they very clearly understand the impact a further escalation of the conflict or a failing state called Ukraine would have on the rest of Europe.”