Ukraine Leftists Announce New Coalition

PRAGUE, July 7, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- Ukraine's main parliamentary opposition, the pro-Russian Party of Regions, has signed a coalition agreement with the Socialist and Communist parties.

Under the agreement, Party of Regions head and former Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych will be put forth as the coalition's candidate to head the cabinet.

"The coalition's doors will always be open, and every political force can apply for participation in the coalition," Yanukovych said today.

Collapse Of The Orange Coalition

The surprise agreement comes just hours after President Viktor Yushchenko said attempts to form a government by a coalition of liberal parties had collapsed.

Yushchenko was reacting to the July 6 election of Socialist Party leader Oleksander Moroz as speaker of parliament.

Roman Bezsmertny, the faction leader of the pro-presidential Our Ukraine party, was equally pessimistic.

"I don't think anybody will deny that de facto the coalition ceased to exist yesterday," he told journalists in Kyiv today.

Moroz was elected thanks to support from the pro-Russian Party of Regions, invalidating a previous deal on the distribution of top positions, according to which close Yushchenko ally Petro Poroshenko was to become parliament speaker and former Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko was to return as head of the cabinet.

Yushchenko said this meant the Orange coalition had basically collapsed. He said that, as a result, a new coalition might have to be created.

Parliament's Status In Question

The status of the latest coalition and of parliament itself remains unclear.

Ukraine's constitution says a coalition must be formed within 30 days of parliament's first sitting. That deadline passed almost two weeks ago, giving Yushchenko the theoretical right to dissolve the chamber.

Tymoshenko discussed this possibility with reporters in Kyiv today.

"Thirty days have passed since the parliament began its work, but there is still no coalition in the country," she said before the announcement of the leftist alliance. "So, before speaking about what this parliament is about to do, we should first wait for a legal assessment whether this parliament is legitimate and, secondly, we should wait to see whether the president is going to exercise his right to dissolve the parliament since no coalition was created within 30 days. Therefore, until the president takes a stand, the parliament does not have full legitimacy."

Yushchenko made no categorical statement today on parliament's status but stressed that the future government's legitimacy depends on observing the constitution.

"The best way to avoid future discussions about the legitimacy of the election of the head of parliament or the prime minister is to stick to the deadlines laid out in the constitution," Yushchenko said . "So, I would say in this context there is a threat of the parliament being dissolved if the forces that assumed the political responsibility to form a coalition fail to do it within these deadlines."

In the 450-seat parliament, the Party of Regions has 186 seats. The Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc has 129 seats; Our Ukraine, 81; the Socialist Party, 33; and the Communist Party, 21.

Ukraine's opposition parties join together

By NATASHA LISOVA, Associated Press Writer
Fri Jul 7, 2:48 PM ET

KIEV, Ukraine - Ukraine's main opposition party joined together with two other groups in parliament Friday, and the new coalition proposed pro-Russian politician Viktor Yanukovych as prime minister.

The realignment means that Yanukovych could end up serving as prime minister to President Viktor Yushchenko, the man he lost out to in what has become known as the Orange Revolution.

The move underscored divisions in the country between the mainly Russian-speaking east and south and the Ukrainian-speaking west, and the country's strategic dilemma between close ties with Russia and integration with the West.

The merger creates a three-party coalition of the Party of Regions along with the Socialist and Communist parties. Coalition leaders said they hold a majority of 233 seats in the 450-member parliament.

After the signing, Yanukovych said the parties had created a "crisis coalition. We have a very difficult situation in the state. We need to create order," he said.

The Socialists deepened the political turmoil that has gripped Ukraine since March parliamentary elections when several members rebelled against a coalition of Yushchenko's Our Ukraine party with its 2004 Orange Revolution allies. Socialist leader Oleksandr Moroz was elected parliament speaker.

The developments shattered a plan which would elect a Yushchenko ally as parliamentary speaker and return Yulia Tymoshenko to the prime minister's post. Yushchenko had earlier fired Tymoshenko in a bitter falling out.

Yanukovych was Yushchenko's Kremlin-backed opponent in the 2004 presidential election that sparked the mass protests dubbed the Orange Revolution. Yanukovych won the election, but it was declared invalid and Yushchenko was elected in a court-ordered repeat vote.

Parliament has to confirm a new government.

If Yanukovych becomes prime minister, the stage would be set for persistent confrontation between pro-Russian coalition forces and Yushchenko, further hampering efforts to reverse a slowdown in economic growth and set policy in a nation that has been independent only 15 years.

A government dominated by the Orange Revolution allies, however, would likely have left millions of Ukrainians feeling disenfranchised, because of a sentiment the nation of 47 million is split roughly along geographical lines.

Ukraine has been without a new government since the March vote. The Party of Regions won the most seats in parliament but fell short of a majority, prompting Yushchenko to cast around for allies after his party's disappointing third-place showing.

Yushchenko's Our Ukraine formed a coalition with the Socialists and Tymoshenko's party late last month. But lawmakers on Thursday unexpectedly elected Moroz as speaker after several of his allies said they would not go along with the coalition.

Mykhailo Pohrebinsky, head of the Center for Political Research and Conflict Studies, said a coalition of the Party of Regions, Socialists and Communists would be in constant conflict with Yushchenko.

The vote for speaker came only hours after the Party of Regions ended a 10-day parliament blockade that paralyzed the legislature's work and prevented the formation of a new Orange coalition government.

Tymoshenko slammed her pro-Russian opponents for their attempt to get into government.

"The criminals are coming back," she said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060707/ap_on_re_eu/ukraine_politics;_ylt=AiT_zYfCtQx.HGP2558Tn.d0bBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHVqMTQ4BHNlYwN5bnN1YmNhdA--

If you understand what is happening in Ukraine, Dogman, why don't you explain it to us. The key is to keep the Ukraine out of the hands of the jew-west -- and more under the Russian umbrella. Is that desired goal happening or not happening?