The Collapse of the Orange Coalition
05 September 2008
On Wednesday September 3rd Ukraine’s governing pro-western coalition effectively collapsed after a tumultuous parliament session on the previous day. In the first parliament session after the summer break, Bloc Yulia Timoshenko voted in tandem with the opposition Communist and Regional Moscow-leaning parties passing bills that effectively introduced the unprecedented possibility of presidential impeachment and gave the Prime Minister more power. The latter includes the right to fire the Minister of Foreign Affairs as well as the Minister of Defense (previously prerogatives of the President); engage in negotiations and sign international treaties without the need for a presidential act. The President is furthermore stripped of the initiative of preparation and passing of governmental acts, and loses the right to look into the records of Cabinet meetings. In protest, ministers supporting President Yushchenko walked out of a Cabinet meeting on September 3rd, and their Our Ukraine fraction threatened to quit the coalition. The latter decision was supported by President Yushchenko. Within the next 10 days the decision has to be made whether or not to formally dissolve the coalition. In the event of dissolution another 30 days is given for the formation of a new coalition. In case of failure early elections are to be held.
The above seems to be the result of a bitter power struggle between former orange coalition partners Timoshenko en Yushchenko. President Yushchenko’s camp has accused Prime Minister Timoshenko of siding with the Kremlin after she refused to adopt a resolution sharply criticizing Russia’s actions in the recent Georgian war. Ms Timoshenko retorted that her position was in line with that of the EU, and that she had no wish to drag Ukraine into a war. She also stated that the accusations are just a part of Yushchenko’s struggle for a second presidential term in the next presidential elections in 2010, in which she plans to participate as well.
Yushenko has threatened to dissolve parliament and appoint early elections in case the deputies are not able to create a new coalition, to which Yulia Timoshenko replied that her government will continue working even under pressure from the President’s office. It should be noted that an early parliamentary poll would probably cost Yushchenko’s party dearly, as it is far behind Timoshenko’s bloc and Yanukovich’s Region party in current opinion polls. Roman Zvarych, deputy from Our Ukraine fraction, has stated that a round table is being planned for a meeting with Bloc Yulia Timoshenko in the near future.
The political crisis comes just days before President Yushchenko is due to travel to France for a EU-Ukraine summit concerning Ukraine’s EU aspirations.
