Coalition talks begin as Ukraine PM voted out
Source: Agencies |
March 4, 2010, Thursday
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Print Edition
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UKRAINE'S parliament dismissed the government of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko yesterday, giving her rival, newly elected President Viktor Yanukovych, the difficult task of stitching together a new ruling coalition.
Deputies passed a motion of no confidence in Tymoshenko's administration, with 243 of 450 voting in favor.
The fall of the government came almost a month after Yanukovych defeated Tymoshenko, co-architect of the 2004 pro-Western Orange Revolution, in a bitter presidential run-off, a narrow victory that has yet to restore much-needed stability.
Yanukovych's Regions Party will now seek to form its own coalition within 30 days and a government within another 60, or face a snap election.
Agencies reported that Tymoshenko, defiant to the last, would take a holiday and hand the reins to her first deputy and close ally Oleksander Turchynov. There was no official confirmation.
Yanukovych met with all faction leaders bar Tymoshenko's shortly after the vote and urged them to quickly agree terms.
"The (coalition) talks are not simple but I think they will be finalized in the coming days," Mykola Azarov, a close ally of Yanukovych and a likely candidate for the post of prime minister, told reporters after the vote.
Even if a coalition emerges, the fractious nature of Ukraine's parliament and the limited powers of the presidency mean that the country - split between a Russia-leaning east and south and a Western-friendly west and centre - may yet face further political instability.
"It's just a continuation of the problem," said Oleksander Pchela, a 20-year-old student in Kiev. "Tymoshenko will enter the opposition and demand new elections. There's no end in sight while people vote for personalities but not for ideas."
The nation of 46 million people desperately needs strong government to tackle an economic crisis that saw GDP contract by 15 percent in 2009.
Deputies passed a motion of no confidence in Tymoshenko's administration, with 243 of 450 voting in favor.
The fall of the government came almost a month after Yanukovych defeated Tymoshenko, co-architect of the 2004 pro-Western Orange Revolution, in a bitter presidential run-off, a narrow victory that has yet to restore much-needed stability.
Yanukovych's Regions Party will now seek to form its own coalition within 30 days and a government within another 60, or face a snap election.
Agencies reported that Tymoshenko, defiant to the last, would take a holiday and hand the reins to her first deputy and close ally Oleksander Turchynov. There was no official confirmation.
Yanukovych met with all faction leaders bar Tymoshenko's shortly after the vote and urged them to quickly agree terms.
"The (coalition) talks are not simple but I think they will be finalized in the coming days," Mykola Azarov, a close ally of Yanukovych and a likely candidate for the post of prime minister, told reporters after the vote.
Even if a coalition emerges, the fractious nature of Ukraine's parliament and the limited powers of the presidency mean that the country - split between a Russia-leaning east and south and a Western-friendly west and centre - may yet face further political instability.
"It's just a continuation of the problem," said Oleksander Pchela, a 20-year-old student in Kiev. "Tymoshenko will enter the opposition and demand new elections. There's no end in sight while people vote for personalities but not for ideas."
The nation of 46 million people desperately needs strong government to tackle an economic crisis that saw GDP contract by 15 percent in 2009.
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