Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko held make-or-break talks
on a coalition government with his political rival yesterday after
threatening to dissolve parliament in a bid to force concessions
from him.
Analysts said Yushchenko wanted pro-Moscow Viktor Yanukovich to
commit himself to Western-leaning policies such as seeking
membership of NATO and the EU in exchange for the president
agreeing to Yanukovich becoming prime minister.
Before going into talks with Yanukovich, whom he humiliated in a
2004 election, Yushchenko said he would begin procedures for
dissolving parliament because it faced a crisis.
"It could be solved in two ways; it's either a search for
compromise … or dissolution of parliament," Yushchenko's
spokeswoman Iryna Gerashchenko told reporters.
She said the president still hoped his talks with Yanukovich,
and roundtable negotiations underway between all political groups,
could defuse the situation.
"We still think a deal between Our Ukraine and Regions is
likely," said Tim Ash, emerging markets economist at Bear Stearns
investment bank in a research report. "Yushchenko is probably
bluffing over early elections."
Yanukovich's Regions party won most votes in parliamentary polls
in March in which Yushchenko's Our Ukraine party trailed a poor
third.
Yushchenko has until the end of today to make up his mind about
Yanukovich's nomination as prime minister. It is not clear in the
constitution if he has the right to reject him and what
consequences there could be if he did so.
Dissolving parliament would mean new elections, a prospect
financial markets are unlikely to welcome after four months of
political uncertainty.
Some analysts say that if Yanukovich became prime minister on
his own terms, Yushchenko would be a lame duck president and would
therefore have little to lose by calling new elections.
If Yushchenko disbanded parliament, it could spark a standoff
with the opposition majority in the chamber. They have said a
dissolution would be illegal and they would ignore it.
Yanukovich's party says it is not prepared to make concessions
to Yushchenko on NATO or another divisive issue the status of the
Ukrainian language.
Yushchenko defeated Yanukovich in 2004 by winning the re-run of
a presidential election that had been allegedly rigged in his
rival's favor. But his "Orange Revolution" has spluttered.
There are signs Yushchenko may be trying to conclude an
electoral pact with his estranged ally Yulia Tymoshenko, which
would change the electoral calculations.
An old "Orange Revolution" ally, Tymoshenko served as
Yushchenko's prime minister before being sacked. Her party has
strong support among voters.
(China Daily August 2, 2006)
