"Kurokrady"

Party of Regions parliamentary deputies continue to steal votes in parliament, despite their solemn undertaking to cut out such anti-constitutional behaviour.

Because of laziness, not being bothered to turn up, or lack of party discipline, the ruling majority is still incapable of honestly garnering the 226+ votes necessary to pass new legislation. PoR faction leader Yefremov puts the high absentee rate down to a nebulous 'human factor'

However, when no journalists or members of the opposition are present to scrutinise proceedings, as during the hijacked April 4 session, held behind closed doors in a small cinema, Hey presto! they can assemble 244 pro-government members, no problem.

President Yanukovych, together with many other Ukrainian politicians delude themselves on their relationship with mature western democracies. Today the president said: "We have an ambitious goal - to sign the Association Agreement in November this year with the EU at  Vilnius summit....The process of euro-integration is lengthy. There are criteria toward which Ukraine is striving; and above all, we are interested in this, because it is the modernisation of our country, it is our success."

One problem: No respectable politician or businessman will have any lasting relationship with such 'stone-age' kurokrady....

*In Eastern Europe a kurokrad [lit. chicken thief] was the epithet given to to petty thief. In villages chickens grazed freely - only the lowest of the low would stoop so low as to steal his neighbour's chickens.

p.s. TVi report seasoned Ukrainian politician and latterly presidential adviser, Valeriy Konovalyuk, has quit PoR in a huff.

The youthful Konovalyuk struck me as being from the same mould as Vitaliy Khoroskovsky, [who also recently walked out of Ukrainian politics], and Serhiy Tihipko - all bright, eloquent, highly presentable performers.

Without such people Party of Regions' look ever more like a bunch of old crocodiles - like PM Azarov, parliamentary speaker Rybak, Yefremov (see above) - same old faces that have been around too long.

The new young Donbas guys linked to 'The Family' who have been assigned the construction of a power monopoly structure headed by Yanukovych, shy away from publicity and the cut and thrust of politics.

Konovalyuk laments: "All of my numerous requests and documents about the situation in the country, about failing and inefficient economic policies, the absence of real reform, the extent of corruption and abuse, of the low standard of the executive authority and its discipline, and much, much more ... What is happening today (about which I have repeatedly warned) - is a direct path to crisis and the bankruptcy of the country. It is a complete rejection of the promises and obligations given three years ago, and the betrayal of those who for many years have supported and believed in the development and the prosperity of Ukraine,"