Elections in Ukraine to be Held December 7

In America, December 7 will be Pearl Harbor Day, while in the Ukraine, it will be polling day. The coincidence is unintentional, but nevertheless, apt. Ukraine has come to a fork in the road, and whichever way it goes, a large portion of its population will hate it.

President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko were allies in the Orange Revolution that brought down President Viktor Yanukovich following a rigged election. The two have had a falling out, and their coalition fell apart when Ms. Tymoshenko’s bloc in parliament went into alliance with Mr. Yanukovich’s Party of Regions to pass several laws that threatened Mr. Yushchenko’s powers as president.

Naturally, Mr. Yushchenko blames Ms. Tymoshenko for the split. He said in a five minute speech Wednesday, “I am convinced, deeply convinced that the democratic coalition was ruined by one thing alone - human ambition. The ambition of one person. Thirst for power, different values, personal interests taking precedence over national interests.” He added, “In a time of potential external threats, a non-Ukrainian scenario was launched - spineless and, in fact, hostile. We see another threat, a tendency brought from abroad, an attempt to break the national and democratic forces. This is a nail which is deliberately being hammered into our body.”

In recent days, Ms. Tymoshenko’s bloc had been trying to negotiate a settlement that would revive the coalition. That has clearly failed, and the bad feelings on the Tymoshenko side are clear. Andrei Portnov, deputy chief of the Tymoshenko Bloc in parliament, claimed the president's call for an election was "unconstitutional and senseless". He added, “What happened today was 100% provoked by the president, who is the one standing behind the coalition's collapse. We will not vote for any bill legalizing these anti-constitutional acts of the president.”

In the end, this split is about two things. First is Ukraine’s reaction to the Russo-Georgian conflict in August; Mr. Yushchenko believes Ms. Tymoshenko’s government wasn’t firm enough in treating with Russia. Second, it is about which of them is going to be president in 2010. This is far from being over.

© Copyright 2008 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

Kensington Review Home