Free Elections, Big Problems
An Orange Pyrrhic Victory in Ukraine?
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
During the elections in Ukraine, the Party of Regions polled the best results. But three of the parties that emerged from the Orange Revolution, taken together, enjoy an absolute majority. Forming an orange coalition, however, is proving to be a difficult task. The reason is Iuliia Tymshenko’s claim to the premiership. Powerful elements within the presidential bloc Nasha Ukraїna are resisting this. President Viktor Iushchenko is showing weak leadership. Participation of the Party of Regions in a government poses a risk to Ukraine’s independence: Due to the dependence of eastern Ukrainian coal, iron and steel magnates on gas from Russia, the Party of Regions in a “grand coalition” with Nasha Ukraїna would drive the integration of Ukraine into the “single economic space” proposed by Russia and jeopardise Ukraine’s EU prospects.
(Osteuropa 5/2006, pp. 59–74)