Never say never..

The current "Stolichniye Novosti" runs an interview with NSNU party leader Vyacheslav Kyrylenko.

He is asked: "Recently there has been much talk of a broad coalition in the new parliament.. the participation of "Our Ukraine" and the "Party of Regions" [in this broad coalition] is not excluded. What is your attitude to to this idea?

He responds: "My position has not changed. I will be against the creation of a broad coalition in any event. And if this does happen, then I shall not be the leader of the party. I will never agree on a coalition with Party of Regions.

"But such position will split the country again..."

"In the country there is no split. In different regions there are different visions of development of Ukraine. And if we come in the Supreme Rada with these different visions, it does not mean at all, that we should be united there."

Kyrylenko is a tricky position - he knows that president Yushchenko may well be contemplating a coalition with PoR, if PoR do not gain an absolute majority in the September 30th elections.

Last August, months after the March 2006 VR elections, and after much 'toing and froing', it was the president who turned to Yanukovych rather that Tymoshenko to form a government; and lately there has been much talk of behind-the-scenes deals between Yushchenko and the top-bananas at PoR to solve the current political crisis. But if NSNU declare that a coalition with PoR is possible, much their electorate will switch to Tymoshenko's BYuT.

A western politician's answer would have been more non committal:, "We are working hard for, and are confident of a victory for the democratic forces. A coalition is not envisaged by my party at the moment - let's wait and see what the elections produce," or would have contained similar platitudes.

If Yushchenko does push NSNU into a coalition with PoR [a possibility Kyrylenko implicitly acknowledges in his reply] and Kyrylenko quits, how many of his party will go with him?