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July 27, 2005
Hammer down, Mr. Yushchenko!
"...instead of travelling the 300km from Kiev to the Polish frontier in a Soviet-style motorcade of armoured vehicles, police escorts and the like, Yushchenko went in an unmarked family sedan.Big mistake - as any rank-and-file Ukrainian driver could have told him.
Traffic cops halted the presidential vehicle, Yushchenko later fumed at a news media conference, every 30 minutes or so over the four-hour trip. The Yushchenko family's late-model German sedan was, he said, functioning perfectly and he wasn't speeding.
The stops were nothing more than repeated shake-downs for bribes, the Ukrainian leader charged.
From his subordinates Yushchenko demanded - and received - a plan to dissolve the DAI and by the beginning of July the deed was done, the executive order signed.
Ukraine's once-feared traffic police ceased to exist."
Sure, the under-paid traffic cops were just trying to survive. Now they'll just have to find a better way. Life will go on. The article says driving conditions are pretty much the same now, just without the police hassle.
But when it comes to political leaders, I'll take action over grandstanding and hot air any day.
Posted by Jeff at July 27, 2005 09:23 AM