No Floor for Ukraine’s President
// Yulia Tymoshenko didn't let the President address the Rada
Yulia Tymoshenko set to the neutralization of Victor Yushchenko
The democratic coalition, now in power in Ukraine, was about to break up yesterday. The adherents of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko blocked the tribune of the Verkhovna Rada, so that Victor Yushchenko couldn’t deliver his annual address to the assembly. A cluster of anti-inflationary measures of the Tymoshenko government that Mr Yushchenko’s circle blocks was a legal pretext for the unprecedented demarche. The new parliament crisis virtually means that the confrontation between the President and the prime Minister is henceforth straight-out, with the absolute power in Ukraine being at stake.
A bloc of contradictions
Last week it was announced that Victor Yushchenko was going to address the MPs with a program speech. On Monday the President’s press-service once again tried to attract publicity to the event. But on Monday evening it got clear that the long-awaited speech of Mr Yushchenko could be called off. Curiously, it was the closest ally of the pro-presidential Our Ukraine–People’s Self-Defense Bloc in the ruling “orange” coalition – the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc (BYuT) – that threatened to frustrate the plan.
Yesterday morning the threat was carried out. The MPs of the BYuT faction occupied the presidium of the Rada before the beginning of the plenary session. Some 30 people encircled the parliamentary tribune, and one of them even sprawled about on the seat of the Speaker, Arseny Yatsenyuk. According to the BYuT members, they wanted to attract attention to the pressing need to adopt a set of anti-inflationary measures”. The necessity was claimed urgent last week after Head of the Presidential Secretariat and an uncompromising opponent of the Prime Minister, Victor Baloga, poured scorn on Ms Tymoshenko for her dull economic policy. He means that April’s inflation index of 3.1% shows that the Tymoshenko government “is unable to cope with the negative developments in the economy of the country, regardless of the permanent reassuring statements of government officials.”
The adherents of the Prime Minister were quick to take counter-measures. They attached the blame to Mr Baloga personally accusing him of bringing about sabotage of the government’s anti-crisis line by regional authorities. To curb inflation, Yulia Tymoshenko proposed a cluster of bills, whose essence was stated in the Rada yesterday. “We won’t leave the tribune unless three anti-inflationary bills are passed. The first one imposes import tariffs allowing for lowering the inflation index. The second one is a bill that any civilized country has – the limitation of extra charge on basic foodstuffs in supermarkets. And the third one is targeted at the elimination of the deficit of basic foodstuffs using duty-free imports.” Interestingly, the Prime Minister didn’t explain what hampered her supporters to introduce the bills after the President’s speech.
Manifestation of eloquence
Victor Yushchenko, denied the right to address the assembly from the Rada tribune, managed to give a speech in the parliament – addressing the press this time. First he scarified the economic policy of the Prime Minister. “Actually no set of anti-inflationary measures has been introduced yet! As economist, I want to emphasize that this (curbing inflation - Kommersant) can be done only by means of altering the budget. These alterations were to be introduced as early as March, but so far practically nothing has been done.” Accusing the government of “the insufficiently hard line on inflation,” Mr Yushchenko turned to politics. He warned the BYuT against breaking coalition agreements and disrupting the democratic coalition.
Still the part of the speech devoted to the drafting of Ukraine’s new constitution can be considered the key message of the address. Last year Victor Yushchenko “anointed” the setting up of the National Constitution Council (NCC) so that it could elaborate a final variant of the Constitution distinguishing the powers of the Prime Minister and the President (to the benefit of the latter, by the way). But Yulia Tymoshenko wouldn’t turn a blind eye to it. Last month during the PACE session in Strasbourg she declared that she was preparing her variant of the Constitution envisaging the transformation of Ukraine into a parliamentary republic with a strong Prime Minister.
Yesterday Victor Yushchenko openly expressed his view of the matter. “I demand that all Constitutional initiatives be created within the NCC. It’s a place where journalists, lawyers and representatives of all political forces work together,” Mr Yushchenko stated. So he meant that he did not welcome the Prime Minister’s Constitutional initiatives at all. At the end of his address, Mr Yushchenko spoke in a reconciliatory tone. He stressed that he didn’t consider the current crisis a cause for dissolving the parliament or overhauling the composition of the ruling coalition. After having his say the President went on a visit to Israel.
The tug-of-war
As soon as Victor Yushchenko left the parliament, Yulia Tymoshenko convened her briefing in the Rada. And even its preparation showed that both heads of Ukraine as well as their supporters were under stress. It took the press-services of the government and the parliament much time to coordinate the venue where the briefing was to be held. The former wanted Ms Tymoshenko to give her speech at the same place where Victor Yushchenko spoke a few minutes before, and the latter objected suggesting another room.
Finally the Prime Minister got her own way. Her address turned out more tough than that of the President. She reiterated that her government was impeded from carrying out economic reforms. Earlier the Prime Minister had preferred to put the blame on the Head of the Presidential Secretariat Victor Baloga, whereas this time she stated that “the blocking of the work of the government was sanctioned by the president.” “As to inflation, Ukraine got a double-blow. First, it “inherited” the 17% inflation index from the previous government, second, it faced the global trends of recession,” the Prime Minister tried to justify herself. “I pledged to reverse it within five or six months. But the work of the government has been blocked for four months already!”
Taking advantage of the absence of Victor Yushchenko, Mr Tymoshenko decided to launch her counter-attack. “For four months I haven’t done anything that would allow one to think that we didn’t support the democratic coalition and the President. I didn’t respond to any accusation, or ban, or hindrance to the work of the government. Today it’s time to act. To act resolutely,” the Prime Minister cut it short.
Ms Tymoshenko also spoke of the key issue – the new Constitution. Just like Mr Yushchenko, she called on everyone to combine their efforts in elaborating a renewed Constitution. At the same time she warned against introducing bills drafted in the lobby. According to her, the draft of the NCC was that very document from the lobby. “Everyone should participate in it. And the work can be carried out in the Rada only. No separate groups must be set up to create their own Constitutional amendments,” concluded the Prime Minister.
After finishing her speech, Ms Tymoshenko, just like the President, refused to answer the questions of the press. But Kommersant correspondent managed to ask her a question concerning her relations with the head of state. When asked who really hampered her – Mr Baloga or his chief – the Prime Minister said abruptly, “To do this, they’ll always find another Baloga there (in the Presidential Secretariat – Kommersant).”
After the demarche of Yulia Tymoshenko and her supporters, you can hear many people in Ukraine say that, considering the chaos within the ruling coalition, the “orange” team must step down. “Today’s events in the parliament confirmed that not only Baloga or any of the “orange” team members, but the entire “orange” coalition must resign,” said Second Secretary of the Central Committee of Ukraine’s Communist Party Igor Alekseev.
At the same time experts opine that Ms Tymoshenko wouldn’t mind stepping down, she only wants to provoke Victor Yushchenko to take a harsh step; and then appearing “offended” by the president she would triumph in early elections and, becoming stronger, engage in a new war for power. “Yesterday was a demonstrative fighting. It’s important for Tymoshenko to show the elites who rules in Ukraine,” Vadim Karassev, Chief of Kiev’s Institution for Global Strategies told Kommersant. “Early parliamentary elections would suit her fine, she could win them and oust Yushchenko.”
Sergey Sidorenko, Sergey Golovnev; Kiev; Vladimir Solovyov
All the Article in Russian as of May 14, 2008
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