Yushchenko's party calls for restoration of Orange team
President Viktor Yushchenko’s party has reportedly given its backing to a restoration of the Orange Revolution team, calling for a coalition to be formed with its estranged ally, Yulia Tymoshenko, and the Socialists, Ukrainian media reported today.
The decision, allegedly made late yesterday by a senior party council, puts added pressure on Yushchenko to set aside animosity toward Tymoshenko, whose party came in first among the Orange forces in the March 26 parliamentary election.
A spokeswoman for Our Ukraine refused to comment, but said the party’s campaign leader, Roman Bezsmertniy, would hold a news conference later today.
The party’s vote calls for further talks with Tymoshenko and Socialist Party leader Oleksandr Moroz to create “a coalition of democratic forces” that supports the president’s agenda, according to Ukraine’s news website Ukrainska Pravda and 5TV.
There was no mention of Tymoshenko’s main demand, that she be returned to her job as prime minister.
Ukrainska Pravda reported that the party also voted on a measure that would allow other parties to join the coalition at a later date, but it wasn’t supported.
The party’s decision reflects earlier statements by individual members, but the final decision rests with Yushchenko.
Many analysts had predicted that Yushchenko was leaning toward a coalition with his former Orange Revolution foe, Viktor Yanukovych, who won 32% of the vote and enjoyed the support of Ukraine’s Russian-speaking east and south, as a way to unite the country.
Yushchenko’s party won only 14% of the vote, far behind its former partner, Tymoshenko’s bloc, which had 22%.
