Nationalist rumblings in Ukraine?
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko’s party officially pulled outof the ruling pro-Western coalition on Wednesday amid a governmentdispute over presidential powers and the Georgia-Russia conflict.
The Our Ukraine party’s decision was reached on Tuesday night afterlawmakers voted to reduce the president’s powers, and was officiallyannounced to parliament on Wednesday morning.
Yushchenko earlier accused Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko of “treasonand political corruption” over her failure to back the president in hissupport for Georgia and condemnation of Russia in the recent conflictover South Ossetia. The premier is widely expected to run againstYushchenko at the next presidential election.
The decision was approved late on Tuesday by 39 out of 64 partymembers, and will come into force in 10 days, the Ukrainian Pravda newswebsite said, citing a party official.
The new laws adopted by parliament on Tuesday stripped the president ofhis veto on prime ministerial candidates, and facilitated the procedurefor impeaching the president.
Tymoshenko’s party has been accused of siding with Russia by refusingto condemn the country’s move last week to recognize Georgia’sbreakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independentcountries. Opposition leader Viktor Yanukovich backed Russia’sdecision.
After the coalition split comes into effect, Ukrainian lawmakers willhave 30 days to form a coalition government. If they fail to do so, thepresident will have the right to dissolve the parliament.
Ukraine’s pro-Russian former prime minister, Yanukovich, who heads theParty of Regions, has said that he does not rule out the possibility offorming a parliamentary majority with the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc.