Thursday, October 12, 2006

Breaking up is so hard to do..

Quote from a Yuliya Tymoshenko interview today:

"Nobody knows for sure, whether 'Nasha Ukraina' will finally approve a decision to go into opposition. While Roman Bezsmertnyi says that all bridges [between NU and the PoR-led coalition] are burnt, half of the [NU] fraction stand ready with fire-extinguishers to put out the fires."

NU's Ministers seem confused too.

Youth and Sports Minister Yuriy Pavlenko, appointed as part of NU's quota, claims that he has not submitted a resignation directly to the Verkhovna Rada, but rather to the NU fraction leader, Bezsmertnyi.

Pavlenko says that the ministers from Our Ukraine are going to quit just after the completion of the coalition talks, and that all the ministers, including the President’s quota – the Foreign, Defense and Interior Ministers, were ready to resign.

Health Minister Yuriy Polyachenko confirmed that resignations had been submitted by the NU ministers.

Yet Culture Minister Ihor Lihovyi revealed to Ukrayinska Pravda that he had not handed in his resignation.

ps All the 'big beasts' in Ukrainian politics have been saying good things about new National Security and Defence Council secretary Vitaly Hayduk, apart from some sh***y comments from Fuel and Energy minister Yuriy Boyko: "We all remember the slogans about separating government and business. When a billionare is appointed as head of the NSDC of Ukraine, this to some extend indicates how slogans are transformed in the democratic development of society." [According to a recent list of wealthy Ukrainians in 'Kyiv Post', Hayduk is worth $1.7Bn.]

pps More disreputable names from the past are being 'pulled out of their coffins'. Obkom reports that Serhiy Levochkin, one of Kuchma's closest aides, has been appointed head of of the PM's 'Apparat' which is to replace the PM's 'Service'.

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