Yushchenko shoots himself in the foot - Aleksander Kwasniewski

October09200810:19

By dismissing Verkhovna Rada, PresYushchenko shot himself in the foot, Poland’s former Pres Kwasniewski said on TVN24, RIA Novosti reports.

According to the report, Kwasniewski called Yushchenko’s decision a very grave blunder. “There was a chance to create a wide democratic coalition of BYUT, NUNS and the Lytvyn bloc, and we were working on it,” he added.

The results of a new snap election will be much the same as in 2007. Moreover, Pres Yushchenko “may suffer a substantial pratfall,” A. Kwasniewski said.

Meanwhile, the early parliamentary elections in Ukraine will delay for many months any serious talks on Ukraine’s entry in NATO and the EU, the ex-president said.

Comment by ZIK

Pres Yushchenko dismissed the Verkhovna Rada and declared early parliamentary elections in a televised address to the nation Oct. 8 at 21.00.

Yushchenko stressed that the existing coalition collapsed on Sept. 2 when BYUT, the Party of Regions and Communists passed a number of laws most of which were unconstitutional and anti-Ukrainian. As he put it, Sept. 2 saw the effort “to dismantle Ukraine.” Consequently, Sept. 3 pro-presidential NUNS couldn’t remain in the coalition and announced its resignation.

Yushchenko said the coalition had fallen victim to ambitions and greed for power of one person [Yulia Tymoshenko] and the BYUT faction had become hostage to the premier. Yushchenko then claimed that economic reforms failed, giving place to populist measures.

Simultaneously, Pres Yushchenko pointed out that within the 30-day period after the collapse of the coalition, no new coalition had been formed.

Comments

12:4710.10.08 Beyond Yushchenko
- All expectations, assuming the President will not falsify election results, is that Party of Regions will secure a majority in the next convocation of Ukraine's Parliament. The President's Party, Our Ukraine, is struggling to maintain over 3% support necessary to secure representation and there is no natural alliance or political partners that would be willing or prepared to enter into a coalition with the fledgling Presidential party.
  Already members of Our Ukraine are engaged in negotiations to abandon association with Our Ukraine and are seeking a safe haven and support of other political factions.
  The election scheduled for December 7 will be, by default, a referendum on the President himself, A referendum that Victor Yushchenko can not not win.