Yushchenko Dissolves Ukrainian Parliament ... Again

In an October 8 televised address, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko formally dissolved Parliament. According to Ukrainian law, a new election should take place within 60 days, so expect it sometime in December.

Yushchenko stated that due to the lack of a ruling coalition, the Ukrainian people must have their say. He also said that “The democratic coalition - I am sure of it - was ruined by the ambitions of a single person.” Yushchenko was referring to Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

Most surprising is that the address must have been taped, as Yushchenko had left earlier in the day for an official trip to Italy. It seems extremely cowardly to announce the dissolution of Parliament via a taped message while being physically out of the county.

The new election will be a problem for the pro-Presidential Our Ukraine People’s Self Defense Bloc, whose popularity has dropped from 14.5% last year to 9.4% today. That will translate into fewer seats in the Verkhovna Rada. Complicating matters more is the possibility that People’s Self Defense may run independently, splitting the vote and possibly leaving one of the two groups out of Parliament.

Some analysts point out that the removal of Tymoshenko as Prime Minister is the only potential gain for Yushchenko. By removing Tymoshenko from office, it takes her out of the limelight, possibly decreasing her popularity prior to next year’s presidential election. One political analyst, Volodymyr Fesenko, suggested Yushchenko’s strategy is to have a Prime Minister who does not want to run for president after Parliament is elected.

Yushchenko may be correct in thinking that Tymoshenko has been seeking more power, but he is power-hungry himself. He seemed to be completely disinterested in rebuilding the democratic coalition, instead focusing on seeking a second term in office. It seems as though he was thoroughly threatened by Tymoshenko’s popularity and wanted to do anything to put her down.

The problem is that Yushchenko is totally mistaken if he thinks that removing Tymoshenko as Premier will clear his way to a second term as President. His own popularity is at an all-time low and I see little chance for him to be re-elected. Besides Tymoshenko, former rival and head of the Party of Regions Viktor Yanukovych enjoys more popularity than Yushchenko.

By destroying the coalition and removing Tymoshenko from the premiership, Yushchenko has ruined any chance of gaining Tymoshenko’s support for another term in office. His only hope now is to make a deal with the Party of Regions, where they would support his presidential campaign in exchange for making Yanukovych Prime Minister again. That would be interesting, since the two could not get along during Yanukovych’s previous term as Prime Minister.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again ... the biggest losers are the Ukrainian people, who have to suffer through another election that promises no improvement to the situation. If no coalition could be formed since the September breakup of the democratic coalition, why does anyone think a new coalition can be formed after another election?

The saddest thing is that Ukraine will hold its third election in the last three years, and then hold a presidential election next year. Many Ukrainians are so disenchanted by continued political deadlocks and elections that I wonder if another “revolution,” such as the 2004 Orange Revolution, is even possible today. What a shame!

Photo: Official Website of the President of Ukraine