Reshuffling the opposition pack.

Next Tuesday VR deputies return back from their holidays, and it's back to business again. The 81 newly-elected NSNU deputies have to decide where they are going to go - into opposition, or into the 'anti-crisis' or national unity coalition, [ACC] or whatever they are now calling it. One of the leaders of NSNU told 'Komersant-Ukraina' that President Yushchenko has given their bloc an instruction to enter the coalition and almost 70 may join up.

Others, who oppose such moves claim no directives from the President have been given and that no more than 44 will agree to join the coalition.

Some senior members of NSNU say that NSNU may not enter into a coalition with PoR at all, and that negotiations may drag on until the end of September, by which time NSNU will split.

There is also some talk of a new party being formed around President Yushchenko, with former PM Yekhanurov and other NSNU deputies being involved, as well as minister of Internal Affairs Lutsenko. Other names linked to this project include Sergiy Tihipko and Vitaliy Klychko.

A big stumbling block is the presence of the 21 Communists in the ACC. Deputy head of PoR's parliamentary fraction Evhen Kushnaryov says, "We also emphasize - we have a clear position: the coalition has already been created; we are ready to examine 'Nasha Ukraina's' conditions, but we will not examine any conditions concerning any party's exit on principle! Furthermore we understand that if the Communists leave, we lose political allies, and in exchange gain ideological rivals who have many queries on our program positions."

Meanwhile, Tymoshenko has rode back into town after laying low for several weeks..How may disgruntled NSNU deputies will join BYuT, I wonder?


'Ukrainska Pravda' claim the parliamentary deputy who ordered the murder of UBOZ investigator Yerokhin, may be from the BYuT bloc. Someone whose name begins with Sh.. [you know who..]