Maidan 2.1 Still on Standby, Counter-Maidan Still Sucks

Wednesday turned out to be quieter than most Kyivites had imagined. The Orange Maidan, now situated at European Square, continues hibernating, without much mobilization since the March 31 reunion. Tymo, AWOL, seems to be preoccupied with the elections.

The Blue Maidan, sighted at daytime Independence Square, continues hallucinating, without quite reaching the heights it claimed it will. 'Smart camera' flyovers used in live broadcasts on state television controlled by Yanukovych make it look bigger than it really is. Stripped of this fake bakery, the Counter-Maidan has a more modest, part-time look.

Attendance patterns and population density vary substantially. The pictures — if you keep an eye on them throughout the day — speak for themselves:

http://1plus1.tv/video/camera.php

In retrospect, one could argue jokingly that while in 2004/05 we Maidaners expected T-84s to run over our dead bodies, in 2007 we could run those T-84s without hurting a fly.

Of course, it’s a bad joke. The tanks are the hallmark of Moroz’s apocalyptic imagery, which he maladaptively spoonfeeds to the public on an almost hourly basis.

In fact, as of today, a clear vision is nowhere to be found. Confusion surrounds the Constitutional Court and the Central Election Commission. A cadre of five Justices, all of them presidential appointees, has reportedly abstained from participating in the hearings, citing pressure from Yanukovych. Meanwhile, Communist and Socialist appointees to the Central Election Commission remain on a ‘sick leave,’ effectively killing the quorum.

Hardly an hour passes without a cycle of recriminations, as each side attempts to cover its bases by blowing the whistle on the other. The Orange ones, especially the stay-at-home mom of Ukrainian democracy, should do a better job of keeping in touch with their voters. Come out of your shell, will ya?

“Stability” Strikes Back
Parliament, Half-Dead/Half-Alive, Throws Poison Pills at Yushchenko

As a creative countermeasure to Yushchenko’s decision, the Coalition of National ImpUnity squatting in the Verkhovna Rada has voted to re-impanel the Central Election Commission whom the High Court of Ukraine had found guilty of massive election fraud that had sparked the Orange Revolution in winter 2004/05. Tells a whole lot about the value proposition of "stability," doesn’t it?

In spring 2005, chairman Serhiy Kivalov and his henchmen walked — thanks to an overgenerous pardon policy that cost Yushchenko dearly. From then on, in the eyes of his supporters, President Yushchenko walked with a limp, a condition from which he has started to recover only yesterday.

The Yanukovych Cabinet is doing its own share of stonewalling. It has declared Yushchenko’s decision unconstitutional and has publicly refused to allocate funding for new elections, scheduled for May 27.