KIEV, Ukraine — Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s pro-Western “Orange” coalition dissolved today, losing its majority in parliament and paving the way for Ukraine’s new president to consolidate his power.
The development means Tymoshenko will soon be ousted and spells the final repudiation of the Orange Revolution she helped lead in 2004. Russia-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych defeated Tymoshenko in last month’s election, but she has been a thorn in his side ever since, refusing to resign and challenging the vote results.
Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn told parliament the ruling Orange coalition had been unable to prove it still had majority support in the 450-seat chamber.
“This coalition did not come up with enough votes … I therefore announce the termination of this coalition’s activity,” Lytvyn said in remarks reported by the parliament’s press service.
Ukraine’s political parties must now form a new majority coalition and are most likely to group around Yanukovych’s Party of Regions. Yanukovych says that if no majority can be reached he will disband parliament and call snap elections.
In response, Tymoshenko lashed out at Lytvyn, who is also a leader of the Orange forces in parliament, for “illegally ruining the democratic coalition” and paving the way for Yanukovych’s “anti-Ukrainian dictatorship.”
“This was the last barricade worth defending if we wanted to protect our independence, sovereignty, strength and the European development of our country,” Tymoshenko said in a televised appeal to the public.
“History will hold him responsible.” she added.
Parliament is set to hold a confidence vote Wednesday on Tymoshenko’s government.
In her appeal, Tymoshenko said she would now seek to unite Ukraine’s “truly democratic and patriotic forces,” but she did not name any potential partners or lay out a specific plan.
The Orange coalition, formed in December 2008, was loosely centered around the political ideals of the Orange Revolution, a series of massive street protests in 2004 led by former President Viktor Yushchenko and Tymoshenko.
Those protests against vote fraud resulted in the Supreme Court overturning Yanukovych’s fraud-tainted election victory in 2004, and Yushchenko, a reformer who wanted closer Ukrainian integration with the West, won a revote. Tymoshenko became his prime minister.
But their constant quarreling and inability to deliver on promises of European integration and economic growth fueled Yanukovych’s comeback. He defeated Tymoshenko in a Feb. 7 runoff by 3.5 percentage points.
Tymoshenko so far has refused to concede defeat, but the failure of her coalition will likely force her into an opposition role in parliament, analysts said.
“The dissolution of the coalition makes Tymoshenko’s ouster inevitable,” said Viktor Nebozhenko, a political analyst in Kiev. “The Orange forces have been defeated on every front.”
Russian Ambassador Mikhail Zurabov presented his credentials on Wednesday to Yanukovych, renewing diplomatic relations between the two countries for the first time since August 2009, when the Kremlin declined to send an ambassador to Kiev until Yushchenko was out of office.
Yushchenko’s efforts to take Ukraine out of Russia’s orbit and join NATO and the European Union infuriated the Kremlin.
Yanukovych, whose base of support is in Ukraine’s Russian-speaking east, has said he would not seek membership in either bloc. He is expected to invigorate ties with Russia through energy interdependence and military cooperation, and plans to visit Moscow on Friday.
“Allow me to express my respect for the Ukrainian people and wish you success in your role as president,” Zurabov told Yanukovych during a televised ceremony.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
