PoR in a muddle

Verkhovna Rada speaker Oleksandr Moroz has postponed the extraordinary Verkhovna Rada session, which he had called for July 31st, until August 7-10th. PM Yanukovych had previously said they 'were no grounds' to the session to take place,
but now declares, "it is necessary to prepare for the special Rada session more thoroughly".

[President Yushchenko dismissed the VR on April 2nd; but just to make sure, he issued two more ukazes on this. It has been rumoured recently that a 4th ukaz may be issued to finally 'kill the beast dead' for good.]

According to the current PoR election campaign boss Boris Kolesnikov, PoR does not plan to form a unified election list with Oleksandr Moroz's Socialist party .

Meanwhile PM Yanukovych today announced in Yenakievo that ‘friends from other parties’ would be seen on the PoR election list.

An article in today's 'Ukrainska Pravda' reveals how PoR are getting their 'knickers in a twist' between Boris Kolesnikov on the one side, and Andriy Klyuyev [head of the 2004 shadow pres. election campaign], on the other.

Apparently, Klyuyev has been "removed from PoR financial streams...for not always behaving correctly with party funds."

It is now Kolesnikov that is most seen with Yanukovych when the PM and president meet.

With just four days to go before the start of the election campaign, the PoR's list is far from sorted. The additions from other parties, including 'traitors' from NU and BYuT, means that there will be losers from amongst some those on last year's list, causing much resentment particularly amongst those at the lower reaches of the list, who may not make it into the new VR.

Klyuyev, with Moroz, would not be unhappy if the elections were postponed, and the disgruntled PoR deputies could well attend the extraordinary VR session in order to give Kolesnikov a 'poke in the eye'.

Moroz would not have dared to call the extraordinary session, which he had claimed on 27th July was at the demand of 179 VR deputies, without some support from within the higher echelons of PoR.

It is no coincidence that when he called it, Kolesnikov was in Moscow [with Mykola Azarov] meeting leaders of the 'Yedinaya Rossiya' party, and PoR fraction leader in the VR, Raisa Bohatyryova, was in the US meeting secretary of state David Kramer, so suspicion falls on Klyuyev colluding with Moroz.

Klyuyev's influence in the party is in decline because of his failure to increase the PoR/Socialist/Communist coalition to 300 deputies. Nevertheless, PoR continue to try and lure orange deputies to their side.

More in English - here.

A straw poll on the 'Donbass' site, which asks visitors whether they will cast a vote on September 30th or not, currently has 54% replying 'Yes', and 38% replying 'No'. Not scientific, but worrying nevertheless for PoR. Voter apathy may be their biggest problem.

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The possible brittleness of the NUNS mega-bloc is highlighted in an article in 'Internet Reporter' entitled: 'Light and shadows in the [NUNS] megabloc.' But maybe more on this tomorrow..