One step forward and two steps back..

A report from today's 'Unian' website:

"Our Ukraine again suspends coalition talks
Our Ukraine has suspended the coalition talks until the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc clarifies its stance, following Tymoshenko`s statement on the distribution of cabinet jobs. Tymoshenko said that her bloc would get the post of Prime Minister; the Socialist Party - the post of speaker; while Our Ukraine already has the post of President. Head of the Our Ukraine election team and participant in the coalition talks Roman Zvarych claimed about the suspension on Tuesday."

With such mutual mistrust and with participants negotiating in what can only be described as 'bad faith,' how long can any possible 'democratic coalition' survive?

This from an article in the latest 'Dzerkalo Tyzhnya': "[Rinat] Akhmetov [Party of Regions' main sponsor and 'puppet-master'] is ready to wait half a year, [or] until the authorities come to him.."

And, "One of the most influential members of PR told 'Dz.T.' "It would be best for us to stop messing about with this president and his party, and do a deal with Tymoshenko. But she doesn't want this."

The article goes on to say that BYuT members in newly-elected city, oblast, and regional councils are already entering coalitions with other parties. If BYuT go into opposition in the Kyiv parliament, some of their members, many of whom funded the election campaign, will no-longer have any obligation to the party on whose ticket they rode into those city, oblast and regional councils.

These machinations are causing NSNU' rating to fall from 14% just over a month ago, to an almost Kuchma-like 10.4%

35.3% of Ukrainians would like to see Yanukovych PM - 31.6 % favour Tymoshenko.