Just how fragile and for how long will Yulia's Marriage of convenience last?

By Online Editor -
Ukrainian Journal has reported another reminder of the fragility of the relationship between Yulia Tymoshenko and The President, Viktor Yushchenko. Both Yulia and Yushchenko continue to fire warning shots across each others bow.

The warning shot was fired from Brussels during the prime-minister's visit. Yulia once again reminded Yushchenko that if he does not tow the line she will stand against him in the next Presidential election, ending Yushchenko's hopes for a second term. Viktor Yushchenko's political party "Our Ukraine", in spite the takeover of the People's Self Defence party, only managed to received 14% of the popular vote during the September 30 snap poll. The same percentage of vote "Our Ukraine" received in the March 2006 election. The combined support for Yulia Tymoshenko and Our Ukraine is less the 45%.

None of this does any good in shoring up confidence in Ukraine's political stability. There is ongoing concern that once the Yushchenko has restored authority and power in the office of the President the balance of power will swing back to the President who could then force the dismissal of Yulia's government and negotiate a deal on more favourable terms with the Party of Regions. The main stumbling block is Our Ukraine's policy of joining NATO and Ukraine's relationship to Russia.

Tymoshenko moots 2009 run for presidency

Journal Staff Report


BRUSSELS, Jan. 28 – Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko threatened on Monday to run for the presidency next year if disagreements between President Viktor Yushchenko and her government continue to persist or worsen.

Tymoshenko, who opinion polls show is more popular than Yushchenko, has been widely said by her opponents to be planning to run for the presidency. She had persistently denied the plans.

But now, speaking in Brussels, Tymoshenko said her decision will actually depend on Yushchenko.

“If our cooperation with Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko is harmonious and balanced, if a single joint approach is demonstrated towards solving problems, there is no sense to nominate two candidates from the democratic coalition,” Tymoshenko said.

“Then I, with my limitless love to Ukraine, can support [Yushchenko]. But this must be a two-way street,” Tymoshenko said.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dissecting the vote: Zakarpattia and Ternopil

By Online Editor -
Two interesting outcomes in the final round vote that have not been widely discussed in the English media is the outcome in Zakarpattia and Ternopil. We are not sure if it has been been discussed in the Ukrainian media 1. Viktor Yanukovych was the highest polling candidate in Zakarpattiia previsoully Our Ukraine/Yushchenko were the highest. (See 2004,2006 and 2007 election results ) District 74 місто Берегове (Beregove - a Hungarian community located near the border) 2. The other interesting observation is that Yanukovych actually went backwards between the first round and the second round in Ternopiil.  In the first round Yanukovych received 6354 (0.26% of the national vote) in the second final round, with less number of candidates, Yanukovych recorded only 5370 (0.21% of the national vote)  Why Yanukovych went backwards in the second round is any ones guess but we think this  would make interesting reading.
<Additional Information>

Averting a Post-Orange Disaster - Andreas Umland

By Online Editor -
"As Ukraine's economic, social and political crisis sharpens, more and more Ukrainians may question the wisdom of conducting a costly presidential election when the Ukrainian state is almost bankrupt--if not on the brink of collapse." Constitutional Reforms and Political Stability in Ukraine by Dr. Andreas Umland Source: Harvard International Review June, 2009 After several years of impressive economic growth and encouraging political change, Ukraine has recently entered troubled waters. The democracies west of Ukraine are institutionally consolidated and internationally embedded enough to circumscribe the political repercussions of their so far relatively mild economic contractions. While being hit almost as hard as Ukraine by the world financial crisis, Russia has managed to build considerable financial reserves thanks to the enormous cash inflow into her state budget during the years of rocketing energy prices, allowing her to soften the social repercussions of the eco
<Additional Information>

History repeats: Victor Yushchenko interferes with Ukraine's judicial process.

By Online Editor -
The Kyiv Administrative court has issued a injunction suspending the Presidents decree dismissing Ukraine's democratically elected parliament. In what is reminiscent of events unfolded last year, Victor Yushchenko has again interfered with the independence of Ukraine's judiciary . In April 2007 the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe ( PACE ) passed a resolution in consideration of a report titled Functioning of democratic institutions in Ukraine . (Items 13 and 14) stated: “The Assembly deplores the fact that the judicial system of Ukraine has been systematically misused by other branches of power and that top officials do not execute the courts’ decisions, which is a sign of erosion of this crucial democratic institution. An independent and impartial judiciary is a precondition for the existence of a democratic society governed by the rule of law." The associated explanatory report under the sub-heading of Pressure on the courts expressed concern that &qu
<Additional Information>