Ukrainians vs. the Swamp Encouraging signs that someday the country might not even tolerate a Hunter Biden deal. By James Freeman
https://www.wsj.com/articles/ukrainians-vs-the-swamp-11570831102
Call this column optimistic. But there’s reason to believe that indefensible deals like paying fortunes to unqualified sons of foreign politicians will someday be just as difficult to pull off in Ukraine as they are in the United States. In fact, recent developments suggest that Ukrainian leaders may help us improve American government even as they improve their own national governance.
Ukrainian President President Volodymyr Zelensky, the alleged victim in the Trump impeachment case advocated by Democrats in the U.S. House, is still saying he wasn’t victimized.
And at least according to the declassified transcript of his famous phone call with President Donald Trump, he’s eager to help root out corruption. On the July call Mr. Zelensky said, “we are trying to work hard because we wanted to drain the swamp here in our country. We brought in many many new people. Not the old politicians, not the typical politicians, because we want to have a new format and a new type of government.”
The Journal’s Yaroslav Trofimov reports that despite Ukraine’s many challenges—Russian aggression, for starters—Mr. Zelensky is leading an increasingly tolerant and prosperous society:
Ukraine’s economy, which recently began expanding again, posted 4.6% annualized growth in the second quarter of 2019. The currency has become one of the few in the world to strengthen against the dollar.
Ukraine is also currently experiencing a cultural boom, with new globally-minded bands, art centers, film production outlets and fashion design studios sprouting in Kyiv and other big cities. One of Mr. Zelensky’s first decisions was to scrap the Independence Day tank parade on Kyiv’s main avenue, instead showcasing the country’s young musicians—and a different vision of national pride. Alina Pash, a 26-year-old whose eclectic style combines rap, hip-hop and folk, was the starring act. “Maybe it’s finally the time for us,” she said. “We are realizing that we don’t have to wait for a better life anymore, we can make it ourselves.”
Ukraine’s corporate income tax has been falling in recent years and now stands at a competitive 18%, well below the combined state and federal rate of roughly 27% in the U.S.
On many measures of economic liberty and the rule of law, Ukraine has a long way to go, according to the Heritage Foundation. But freedom appears to be rising.
More encouraging news arrives today in a Journal op-ed by Valentyn Nalyvaichenko, member of the Ukrainian parliament and former head of the country’s security service. He urges fellow legislators of all parties in Ukraine to join together to investigate two issues related to the United States. Writes Mr. Nalyvaichenko:
Serious allegations have been made in the U.S. and Ukraine, including that Ukrainian government officials and organizations assisted Hillary Clinton’s campaign in 2016 and that Burisma, a major Ukrainian gas company, hired Hunter Biden, Joe Biden’s son, for cynical purposes. Regardless of the implications of these charges within American politics, Ukraine has a responsibility to investigate them completely and transparently.
First, as I have insisted for more than two years, we must resolve the allegation that Ukrainian officials interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. If we find that Ukrainian laws were broken, the perpetrators here must be prosecuted swiftly, to the fullest extent of the law.
Second, Ukraine must resolve the allegations regarding Burisma. As the former head of the Security Service of Ukraine, our version of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, I know there are many accusations of corruption against this company. CONTINUE AT SITE
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