Yushchenko optimistic about Ukraine's next government (04/16/06)

Yushchenko optimistic about Ukraine's next government

by Zenon Zawada
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Ukraine is in the unique position of being on the verge of three and a half years of stability, throughout which a parliamentary coalition may hold together, President Viktor Yushchenko told an April 12 press conference - his first after the parliamentary elections.

The Ukrainian president expressed unusual optimism about the next government, in spite of the fact that it will be led by his opponents from the elections who garnered far more votes than his Our Ukraine bloc.

"I gained an exceptionally positive impression that Ukraine today is close to forming a constructive majority and a constructive opposition," Mr. Yushchenko said.

For the first time, the Ukrainian Parliament may have a situation in which the ruling parliamentary coalition and opposition are all engaging in constructive dialogue to work for Ukraine's best interests, Mr. Yushchenko commented.

"May the opposition not work against the state, but against the government. If this opposition builds itself on constructive principles, I am convinced the opposition will be able to unite with the majority in very many instances."

As for who will join the parliamentary coalition, the president said it's too early to make statements on the matter because leaders of the Our Ukraine bloc are in talks to determine which partners support the presidential agenda.

The Our Ukraine team, led by Roman Bezsmertnyi and Yonkers, N.Y., native Roman Zvarych, had been meeting with Yulia Tymoshenko and Oleksander Moroz of the Socialist Party this week, taking the first critical steps toward re-uniting the Orange coalition.

Mr. Yushchenko gave a strong hint that an Orange coalition will re-emerge.

"I congratulate those forces who yesterday declared their support for the president's program as a basis for forming a coalition," Mr. Yushchenko said, referring to Ms. Tymoshenko and Mr. Moroz. "That's a good first step. Now the second step is a political agreement."

Mr. Yushchenko made clear he doesn't want to form any coalition until a very detailed agreement is written and signed by its partners, in order to make clear what the coalition's positions will be on virtually every political and economic matter.

That way, if a coalition fails, the reason will become apparent, he said.

"We need to discuss dozens of issues," he told reporters. "Not just discuss, but to exactly specify them so that it doesn't cause disappointment for you, for the nation and for the voters."

The agreement will declare the coalition's positions on the World Trade Organization, the European Union, the Single Economic Space, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, privatization and re-privatization, and dozens of other questions, Mr. Yushchenko explained.

By specifying positions, the agreement will enable its participants to hash out any issues that may cause future potential splits, the president said.

He specifically stated that he wants a coalition to last at least three and a half years, not just one year.

"We need to sit at the table, roll up our sleeves, and write one, then 10, then 20 pages, and discuss which positions the coalition will take on these and other issues," Mr. Yushchenko said. "So that it doesn't happen that, in 20 days into the work of the new coalition, the issue of privatization of land will split this coalition."

Despite their general westward orientation, the political positions of the Orange forces have distinct political differences.

The Socialists have voted against WTO measures in the past, oppose privatization of government property and support the constitutional changes that went into effect January 1.

Meanwhile, the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc doesn't appear to favor free market economics to the same extent as the Our Ukraine bloc, although Ms. Tymoshenko has been trying to portray herself as pro-business in the weeks leading up to her impressive performance on election day.

Once an agreement is drafted, then President Yushchenko said he would be ready to name a prime minister whom he supports.

Ms. Tymoshenko has made clear that her bloc will not unite with Our Ukraine without her becoming Ukraine's next prime minister. Mr. Yushchenko seems ready to accept her as prime minister, but is trying to defend himself from being burned once again by a coalition split.

The coalition agreement appears as though it will provide the President protection from political fallout if the coalition fails and the parties involved begin blaming each other.

"My position won't be formed on my emotions regarding one person or another, how I estimate them on a professional or political scale, but how much (the person) will have clear answers on issues which today are fairly risky as to the functioning of a future coalition," the president said.

"These answers are supposed to be given clearly and publicly, so that you, as Ukrainian citizens, can regulate the behavior of this or that force within the limits of this agreement."

The Central Election Commission, meanwhile, announced the final results of the elections on Monday, April 10, with only minor changes to the parliamentary results.

On April 12, however, a High Administrative Court blocked the publication of the election results in two government newspapers, the Secretariat's Uriadovyi Kurier and the Verkhovna Rada's Holos Ukrayiny, which would have finalized them.

The court ruled against finalizing the results based on a complaint filed by Natalia Vitrenko's People's Opposition Bloc, which just missed making it into parliament with 2.93 percent of the vote.

In the weeks following the elections, Ms. Vitrenko's supporters erected about 100 tents in the red and blue colors of the Russian flag around the Central Election Commission to protest what they charged was its failure to properly tally the votes for the national opposition bloc.

They alleged fraud in counting the votes, as did other political blocs and parties that didn't make the 3 percent barrier.

President Yushchenko said the court's decision was appropriate, from a legal standpoint. "Not a single complaint should be left unexamined if it's justified," Mr. Yushchenko said. "And we're going down this road."

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