http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-03-23-zhurzhenko-en.html
Tatiana Zhurzhenko
What is left of the Orange Revolution?
Inner-party factionalism, political compromises, and corruption scandals:
the year following the Orange Revolution has been an annus horribilis for
the new Ukrainian government. Added to its woes have been setbacks in
foreign relations, first in signing a detrimental deal with Russia over gas
supplies, second in having its aspirations for EU membership thwarted.
Despite improvements in democratic freedoms, the Orange movement feels let
down by its political representatives. Just how far this is the case will
emerge when the votes are counted in the elections on the 26 March.
The long "Orange year" that began in December 2004 with the victory of the
political opposition in the Ukrainian presidential elections - the first
year of the Ukrainian revolution - is finally coming to an end. On 26 March
2006, Ukrainians will elect a new parliament. The results of these elections
could further legitimize the reformist course of Viktor Yushchenko. Or, just
the opposite, they could open the way for a revanche of "anti-Orange"
forces. In an additional twist, this will be the first parliament elected in
line with the constitutional reform. The reform, the result of a compromise
made in order to allow the re-running of the controversial second round of
the 2004 presidential elections, substantially reduces the power of the
president in favour of the power of the parliament and the prime minister.
The polls indicate that none of the three leading parties - Our Ukraine
(Yushchenko), Party of Regions (Yanukovich), and the Yulia Timoshenko Bloc -
will have a majority in the new parliament. What kind of coalition
government will be formed and who will go into opposition? Like in autumn
2004, much is at stake in Ukraine. Now, however, the public mood is quite
different.....
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