Final Word from Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Many Ukrainians had given up on their country long before the vote-rigging. Ukraine is suffering from brain drain, and the CR is a favored destination. The protests in Ukraine are reminiscent of the Velvet Revolution, but the political comparisons end there. The closest the CR gets to rigged elections are perhaps the polls on TV Nova's "7" debate show. (Martin Říman of ODS admitted that there is some informal organization.) The Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Ukraine as the 99th best place to live, compared to 34th for the CR. What's important is that it isn't money that's holding Ukraine back the most. Of the countries surveyed, it had one of the biggest gaps between material well-being (which is on China's level) and quality of life (which is far worse than China's). In light of recent events, greater immigration from Ukraine to the CR is inevitable. presidential elections