Take Lead, Yushchenko

KIEV, Ukraine -- Three weeks after winning his country’s parliamentary elections, Poland’s Donald Tusk put together a coalition after he was nominated as the nation’s next prime minister by his defeated rival, Lech Kaczynski.

Viktor Yushchenko
Meanwhile, Denmark’s ruling coalition was re-elected in its Nov. 14 election, and the slim, one-seat advantage that it won did not appear to threaten the coalition’s majority.

As for Ukraine, six weeks after the election, and two weeks after its results were officially published, no coalition is in sight. In fact, no coalition may actually be the option that prevails.

Most observers doubt that the Democratic Forces Coalition can hold together despite its two-seat majority, and the potential coalition’s own members are the source of their problems.

Numerous elected deputies threatened to abandon a coalition agreement reached by the Yulia Tymoshenko and Our Ukraine-People’s Self-Defense blocs, which was initially drafted as far back as February.

When it comes to the “political porno” of Ukrainian politics (as political analyst Vadym Karasyov recently described it), the nation’s leaders have demonstrated they are far removed from Western pragmatism and European sensibility.

In the latest bickering among the pro-Western Orange forces, most blame belongs with the elected deputies of the Our Ukraine-People’s Self-Defense bloc.

Despite his alleged commitment to the Democratic Forces Coalition, President Viktor Yushchenko either wants to keep his options open, or he is utterly indecisive.

Of course, it wouldn’t be classic Ukrainian political porn without the Party of Regions playing the lead role. Despite their claims of wanting to unite the country and put politics aside, its elected deputies have stalled the first session of parliament for at least two weeks.

Acting, and not just talking, would be the deepest impression Ukraine’s leaders could make on their European colleagues, demonstrating they are capable of governing with the same professionalism and accountability.

The president needs to firmly decide whether he truly wants a coalition with Tymoshenko, and move decisively in that direction, keeping tight discipline over his party operatives. Stop the political porn once and for all, because most Ukrainians have already tuned out.

Source: Kyiv Post