The Ukrainian parliament has again become one big protest site. For how long?
Having failed to obtain the power that was almost within reach, pro-presidential Our Ukraine and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc are using such unacceptable political tools as fighting in parliament and staging public demonstrations in front of the parliament building.
During the last period of President Leonid Kuchma's rule, when power was there for the taking but the majority of people looked down on it, such carnivals of anarchy could and did bring results, notably during the 2004 elections.
But now the Orange have to stand up against political forces that are supported in the southeastern parts of the country, where the Orange have no weight whatsoever. In addition, the Party of Regions, led by 2004 presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych, has learned quite a few tricks from its opponents since the 2004 elections, including how to stage protests in parliament and outside it.
If the Orange try to rally the people again, their opponents will do the same. And if they try to obstruct work in parliament, pressing for their victory, their own work might be obstructed after their "triumph." We have seen this happen more than once in Ukraine, both when the Orange coalition was in the making and during its disintegration.
Holding an early parliamentary election looks like a way out of this situation, in which the Orange coalition has been forced into opposition. No one will protest among the opposition forces or the current authorities. But what will happen if the Party of Regions wins the election? What if Our Ukraine sacrifices everything it has to support Yulia Tymoshenko?
In other words, what would President Viktor Yushchenko do with a parliament without Our Ukraine, and the Party of Regions capable of forming a ruling majority? Should he keep dissolving parliaments until his supporters win an election? But who are his current supporters, especially in view of high-voltage tensions between Yushchenko and Tymoshenko?
There are no winning moves for the president now. The dissolution of parliament would destabilize the situation and have unpredictable consequences. Letting the parliament go ahead, however, would amount to surrendering to the mercy of the Party of Regions, and bargaining for seats for his supporters in an assembly where others are in power.
But Yushchenko has nobody but himself to blame. He had two years to create a new system of political relations, make peace with his opponents, and find a common language with the opposition.
Elected by the western and central regions of Ukraine, Yushchenko should have worked day and night to also become president of the southeastern regions, but he did not.
As a result, the Ukrainian authorities used old political tools for the parliamentary election campaign, shouting about "bandits," pledging to prevent the revival of "Kuchma's rule," and using other mud-slinging tactics.
Meanwhile, clever students from Donetsk pledged to put an end to the "orange plague" and expose the new authorities.
And this is all the teams of Viktor Yushchenko, Yulia Tymoshenko and Viktor Yanukovych can offer the electorate. Therefore, the carnival goes on.
