Con man's convention

So the magic roundabout has stopped turning for the moment - Discussions around the round table are supposed to resume on Monday.

Tymoshenko announced during the first sitting, that BYuT will not sign any 'Universal' agreement.

She exposed the event for the 'ochkovtiratelstvo' [deception] it is, declaring, during the televized proceedings:

"The 'Universal of National Unity' is a wonderful document. Examine any article.....for example, 'Tackling corruption at all levels of government..' Today even children who watch television know about the corruption in parliament. All of the deputies know about this. So parliament is not respected. A month or two will pass, and people will spit at their televisions. So what I want to ask is: why such insincerity? Signing a piece of paper is easy, it will endure anything. So why do it?"

The round table is like a con-man's convention. Yushchenko sacked Tymoshenko last September because her #2 Turchynov was treading on the toes of Yu's 'dear friends' when investigating corruption in Ukraine's energy complex, and in particular, in procurement of gas from Turkmenistan and Russia. [Turchinov's resignation statement is here. ]

Yanukovych and many of his party's leading members [the Klyuyevs, Azarov, Kivalov etc. etc.] were active in the 2004 presidential election steal. Some have a track record of dirty tricks from the days of president Kuchma.

Oleksandr Moroz has been accused by his former #2 in the Socialist party, of switching from the orange 'democratic' coalition to the anti-crisis coalition at the last moment for money. Evidence is being examined by the Prosecutor General. He has gone into a coalition with guys who used the dirtiest of tricks to wreck his 1999 presidential election campaign.

The new Socialist party leader Vasyl Tsushko told journalists today that signing of the 'Universal of National Unity' is being delayed because of the absence of guarantees from President Yushchenko that he will propose Viktor Yanukovych for PM.

Tsushko said that Yanukovych and PoR would approve the Ukraine-NATO plan of action only after such guarantees are provided by Yushchenko. [A man of principle then]

Most Ukrainians know a 'stitch-up' when they see one. In a recent opinion poll, just over a third of respondents said they trust the anti-crisis coalition [ACC], but 43% said they don't. The remainder aren't sure one way or the other. The reasons given for mistrust was the ACC coalition members' actions are determined [1] by personal financial interests, [2] by a desire for lofty positions in government and parliament, and [3] by a wish for revenge after defeat in the 2004 Presidential elections.

Oh for some new faces..

Update:
PoR's press service have just released a statement. They are thoroughly fed up with NSNU' s blackmailing tactics. "A party that received less than 14% of votes cast, and which has less than 80 VR deputies, [out of 450] has set out with the aim of tying up the possible wide format coalition with its own ideology, and of dominating the majority...The condition presented to PoR, the party that won the elections, was give up your own program, which was supported by the majority of voters...We will not allow our party, our partners, or each deputy who is in the coalition, to be humiliated."
They sound quite pi$$ed...