Bombshells in war between Tymo and Yush

The war of words and tension between president Yushchenko and prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko has just been ratcheted up significantly, yet again.

In the past, whenever Tymoshenko was asked the inevitable question: would she be standing for president in the 2009/10 presidential election campaign, she would always give a non committal: 'Let's wait and see' reply.

But in Brussels yesterday she said: "If our co-operation with Viktor Andriyevych Yushchenko will be harmonious, balanced, if a unified common approach to the solution of problems can be demonstrated, then there is no sense putting forward two candidates from the democratic coalition. In that case, in my limitless love for Ukraine, I can support Viktor Andriyevych Yushchenko once more. But I would want this to be a two-way street."
Quite an innocuous statement, it would seem.

But no. The response from the president's secretariat has been swift, brutal, and 'way over the top'.

Viktor Baloha, head of the secretariat has issued a statement posted on the official presidential secretariat's website: "Declaration on support for Viktor Yushchenko in the next presidential elections may be explained by their authors' attempts to gain political gravitas for themselves - Viktor Baloha"

"The leader of the presidential secretariat of the president of Ukraine Viktor Baloha has called all kinds of expressions on possible support for Viktor Yushchenko in the next presidential elections, in event of him carrying out a series of preconditions, as being "without reason" and "excessively self-confident".

In Baloha's opinion, such declarations are an indication of an electoral false start by political forces..or they mean their authors are attempting to gain political weight by putting themselves on the same platform as the Head of State. Two years before the election someone wants to play on electoral strings... similar declarations can be spoken of in the context of the well-known axiom that a true statesman cares about the interest of his country, but a politician is bothered only about the next elections.

The determination of V. Yushchenko to counteract attempts to reanimate political corruption in the higher echelons of the authorities...are met with deaf resistance by those whose corporate interest do not coincide with notions of 'law', 'honesty', 'morals', and 'responsibility'. For this reason the naphthalene idea of impeachment has been resurrected....It cannot be excluded that in order to resist the president, the most unexpected political configurations and unions are possible."

There is more of this agitprop 'drivel' there too.

LEvko says there's no knowing where this childish Punch and Judy show will lead...and there is no one to bang people's heads together..

p.s. A brief interview with Tymoshenko on Euronews here