A Lose-Lose Situation

By Roland Oliphant Russia Profile Despite a Major Personality Clash, an Alliance between Yushchenko and Tymoshenko Seems Like the Lesser Evil Monday was the last chance for Ukraine’s increasingly polarized political pantheon to form a new governing coalition. On Tuesday, President Viktor Yushchenko is expected to start consultations on the dissolution of parliament and new elections. While the political deadlock is as irresolvable as ever, almost any deal would be better than holding new elections. The previous coalition between President Viktor Yushchenko’s Our Ukraine faction and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s eponymous bloc broke down at the beginning of September. The Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc joined forces with opposition parties in the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament, to pass measures limiting presidential... [read full story]