Cattle Don't Get Involved In Politics

A herd is a herd.

"Makei's pro-Western orientation exists only in the heads of Belarusian analysts", - I still remember someone's very witty comment under the article, where it was seriously argued that there is a strong European lobby in the existing government. All these lobbies are just waiting for their time to collapse the dictatorship and lead the people into a bright future.

Makey is no longer in the world, but the attempts of journalists and political analysts to look for a black cat in a dark room do not stop. This is probably how the hostages of "Nord-Ost" whispered about the terrorists and determined that some of them are civilized and kind people: they take them to the toilet and give them water. Hostages are understandable: when your life hangs in the balance and any careless movement can lead to death, you will look for manifestations of humanity in terrorists. But people who are safe, not starving and not living under the bridge, but in quite comfortable conditions and at the same time greedily looking for European lobby among Lukashenko's dummies, is a miserable sight.

Makei is dead, so let's hope for Petkevich: there is no hope for the people. Petkevich is sure to restore relations with Europe and America, to convince Lukashenko of the advantages of Western civilization, to secure the release of political prisoners in exchange for the lifting of sanctions! She is such a Westerner, she has lived in America, she knows what small talk is. And there, in New York, she was taught to say hello in the elevator and to use a knife and fork. And here is Petkevich from America, in branded clothes, trained in the art of using napkins - and straight to the administration. Now we'll be better off, of course.

Yesterday, too, the frequency of headlines discussing what the transfer of Petkevich from the administration to the government and Karanik from the government to the Academy of Sciences means for public policy was rippling in my eyes. And they are seriously discussing: what is the most important thing in these transfers? How much did Petkevich fail in front of Lukashenko that she was pushed out of her key position to the "social network"? Who is the protagonist of the intrigue - Petkevich or Karanik? And what will happen to the motherland now?

The future of the motherland and possible changes after Makei's death and appointment of a new minister were also hotly discussed. Then - after the appointment of Petkevich to the administration. Of course, nothing changed, except prices, but the discussions were serious. Sometimes one gets the impression that the Belarusian media are ready to pay Lukashenko a salary - specially for him to move his pawns back and forth from time to time, giving him an opportunity to fill the information space.

But even he knows: the pawns have no vector, orientation, views. And to endow them with non-existent qualities is stupid and unprofessional. The Academy of Sciences can be run by Karanik or Balaba. Petkevich and Karayev are also one and the same face and will fit in any position - from the Minister of Culture to the head of the colony. Kochanova and Massandra can be easily swapped and everything will be the same. Move them all one cell to the right or left and no one will even notice. There are no queens or kings among them, not even bishops - it's just a set of pawns that don't participate in the game. They just move them back and forth so that they don't relax and don't forget who their master is.

So it's completely pointless to speculate about the degree of their importance or secret political views. It's like sitting on the edge of a village day after day, watching the herd go to pasture, and then broadcasting on the airwaves and writing in columns, "Today the spotted cow was first. And yesterday she was second. So now her influence in the herd has increased and she's participating in decision-making by taking a key position." Sounds silly, doesn't it? Just like the reasoning of analysts after the next Lukashenko's appointments. A herd is a herd in Africa.

Irina Khalip, especially for Charter97.org.

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