Orange coalition stalled on issue of prime minister (04/23/06)

Orange coalition stalled on issue of prime minister

by Zenon Zawada
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Hopes for an Orange coalition regressed after Our Ukraine's leadership voiced its opposition to a provision in the coalition-forming procedure agreement that allows for the bloc that won the most votes in the parliamentary election to select the prime minister.

The Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, which won the most votes of the three Orange political forces to qualify for the Verkhovna Rada, inserted the provision as the procedure agreement's sixth and final point, with support from the Socialist Party of Ukraine.

Though Our Ukraine Political Council Chair Roman Bezsmerntyi knowingly signed the agreement on April 13 with the sixth point included, the Our Ukraine People's Union Political Council voted on April 19 to support the agreement without the sixth point.

While citing a lack of clarity as its reason, Our Ukraine's disapproval of the sixth point essentially stalled the coalition-forming process and sent a clear message to Ms. Tymoshenko that Our Ukraine isn't supportive of her candidacy for the prime minister's post.

Earlier in the week, President Viktor Yushchenko had criticized the provision, stressing that the coalition's partners must formulate and agree on a detailed program of political activities before anyone is nominated to a government post.

"We are creating the coalition not assigning someone to a position," Mr. Yushchenko said on April 15. "We are creating the coalition to achieve something."

Ms. Tymoshenko, who has made very clear she wants to become Ukraine's next prime minister, again accused Our Ukraine leaders of deliberately stalling talks in order to buy time to form a majority coalition with the Party of the Regions.

Specifically, Prime Minister Yurii Yekhanurov, presidential confidante Petro Poroshenko and Our Ukraine parliamentary faction leader Mykola Martynenko are laying the groundwork for an Our Ukraine-Party of the Regions coalition, said Ms. Tymoshenko, citing several Our Ukraine members as the source of her information.

"The first part of this plan is to create a positive image in the mass media of a broad coalition between Our Ukraine and the Party of the Regions, including a large number of politicians, citizen activists and journalists who have as their goal creating an image of stability and unity between the east and the west," Ms. Tymoshenko said.

The plan also involves dragging out coalition talks as long as possible in order to demonstrate the inability of the Orange leaders to reach an understanding.

In an interview on the 1+1 television network on April 18, Prime Minister Yekhanurov said he supports creating a "broad coalition," with three or four factions signing its program of action.

"The talks are supposed to be held among all constructive forces, we need to write up a program of action and get as many deputies as possible to sign it," he said.

On the other hand, Our Ukraine official Ihor Zhdanov denied that the Our Ukraine bloc is negotiating with the Party of the Regions to form a coalition.

Ms. Tymoshenko needs to participate in creating the coalition's program of action and agree to the procedure agreement of five points, Mr. Zhdanov said on April 18. "If she only wants to be prime minister, then there won't be any coalition," he said.

Ms. Tymoshenko said she no longer supports the time-staking process of forming a program of action.

Creating new programs is a waste of time considering the president already has a "Ten Steps for the People" program, she said, adding that there is also the political program her government had set when she was prime minister - a program "that had the votes of 370 deputies."

"We're refraining from all discussions around a program and are relying on these two documents," Ms. Tymoshenko said.

She called upon Mr. Yushchenko, instead of Mr. Bezsmertnyi, to represent Our Ukraine in the coalition discussions.

She also stated that she isn't interested in running for the presidency in 2009 and will support Mr. Yushchenko's candidacy.

"We will be depending on Viktor Yushchenko to lead the discussions from the Our Ukraine side, in order to clean away those who are torpedoing the creation of an Orange coalition," she said.

The Protocol for the Procedure of Forming a Coalition of Democratic Forces is a brief, six-point document that establishes the procedure for forming a coalition of democratic forces.

Its sixth point states, "Agreement on the coalition will be based on principles foreseen in the draft memorandum on creating a coalition of democratic forces."

That memorandum, in the view of Ms. Tymoshenko and her ally Oleksander Moroz of the Socialist Party, clearly states that the bloc winning the most votes selects the prime minister.

However, Mr. Bezsmertnyi claimed there are several versions of the memorandum, some of which allow for a veto of the prime ministerial nomination while others don't.

Mr. Yekhanurov said that three versions of the memorandum exist.

Furthermore, Our Ukraine is against distributing positions, Mr. Yekhanurov said. Instead, coalition partners should be forming principles and establishing how the coalition will work, he said.

"The negotiation process has to take place under the concepts of a strategy and program," Mr. Yekhanurov said at an April 20 meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers. "This can't be a program of personal interests of even very eminent people. In Ukraine, the era of kings and princesses has passed."

Mr. Moroz called upon President Yushchenko to accept the protocol agreement and allow Ms. Tymoshenko to become prime minister.

In return, Ms. Tymoshenko has voiced her support for Mr. Moroz's candidacy for the position of Verkhovna Rada chairman which he held from May 1994 to April 1998.

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