Thursday, April 06, 2006

Signs of coalition coalescing?

The Party of Regions of Ukraine, as the party that garnered the most votes in the Ukrainian parliamentary elections, have at last shown some initiative after initial timidity, and today presented what looks on the face of it, quite a statesmanlike project clumsily entitled "Conceptual principles of conditions for formation of a coalition of [parliamentary] deputy fractions".

They are demanding the positions of PM, vice-PM, economy minister, and minister of power, for their party, and lay out detailed conditions for forming a coalition.

The project reveals RU's support of WTO membership and presents a broadly euro-integrational posture. Possible coalition partners consider the project to be just a ritualistic stunt for the benefit of their electorate, to show that 'they are doing something'.

Political experts do not discount the possibility of an orange coalition being formed which includes several dozen representatives of big business who may drift over from the PR election list, presumably because these guys did not fund their campaign for mere political principles, but to be in power.

There is a trial of strength going on inside the President's camp, but significantly, the 186 member NSNU ruling council held a meeting Wednesday night and voted to accept an agreement document to be signed by their envisaged 'democratic forces' coalition members, i.e. BYuT and the Socialists. A motion proposing the agreement be open for signing by PR and Communists was rejected.

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