The recent interview of Abkhaz President Sergey Shamba to the Moskovskiy Komsomolets newspaper provoked a wide public response. Even those who are not interested in Caucasian politics could find something worth thinking about in this conversation, for example, the excessive use of slang, characteristic of politicians of the 1990s. Even though it may seem that political manners have improved since then in post-Soviet space, even though election campaigns seem to be more civilized and political rivals treat each other with respect, Mr
Shamba turned to the old ways of political behavior at the first sign of possible defeat. “I will not allow the victory to be taken away from me, and I know how to win. I’ve fought enough and orchestrated many revolutions in my life”, the President told the Moskovskiy Komsomolets journalist. “I won’t try to persuade anyone to do anything. If someone is trying to break the law and steal victory from the Abkhaz people, I will not allow it. Those who try to falsify the polls will be punished”.
It’s quite peculiar that Mr Shamba implies that he could only lose the elections if someone tampers with the results. On the other hand, the interview also clearly states that only Shamba’s opponents are able to stoop to electoral fraud. This position seems to be secure, but it’s not risk-free: a similar artificial agitation on the eve of
presidential elections in Ukraine in 2004 led to disastrous consequences that Ukrainian politicians are still striving to overcome.
Another interesting statement made by Sergey Shamba in the interview concerned corrupt practices among Abkhaz bureaucrats. He was pretty blunt and harsh: “I’ll fire them all and recruit new ones”. Sergey Shamba himself headed the bureaucratic apparatus as PM for a long time, and back then he made no mention of corruption whatsoever. So is it possible that he is just trying to win people’s sympathy and at the same time find a scapegoat to blame if something goes wrong for him in the elections?
Any strong leader aspiring to reform his country should not be afraid to change himself, and certainly shouldn’t look for someone to blame, instead of trying to do what’s best for his people. One should be honest with oneself: Shamba must ask himself if he is capable of providing leadership for his country, which finds itself in harsh conditions, or not. That is the approach Sergey Shamba should try.
Alexei Vlasov, exclusively to VK.
