Ukraine leadership starkly divided on nation’s future

Ukraine’s parliament didn’t vote on a prime minister in the launch of the season’s new session on Feb. 4. It was widely believed by opposition politicians and their advisers that a vote would be held to approve the president’s expected nomination of Andriy Klyuyev as prime minister. He currently serves as secretary of the National Security and Defense Council.

Ukrainian political leaders offered different proposals on Feb. 4 to resolve the political crisis that revealed stark differences in visions for the nation’s future. Communist Party Chair Petro Symonenko told parliament his faction endorses the creation of a federal government. “Today there’s a real threat of civil war and the guilty ones are those who talk about democracy more than anyone,” he said.

Imprisoned former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko released a statement on Feb. 4 saying she’s against reinstating the 2004 constitutional amendments creating a parliamentary-presidential republic. On the other hand, her Fatherland party supports the measure. Meanwhile, Freedom Party Chair Oleh Tiahnybok announced on Feb. 3 that his faction supports a return to the 2004 version of the Constitution, which he opposed just a week earlier.

Crimean parliament MPs raised the possibility at their Feb. 4 session of asking the Russian government to offer aid and defense of their territory during the political crisis. “We are simply obligated to turn to the Russian Federation, taking into account that Crimea is a Russian autonomy, Russian by nationality, by culture, by language,” said Crimean MP Sergei Tsekov. “Our defender can only be the Russian Federation.” In early December, the Crimean parliament submitted an appeal to President Viktor Yanukovych to use all available methods to restore civic order, “not stopping if that requires a situation of a near state of emergency.”

In response to the Crimean parliament’s announcements, opposition MP Mykola Tomenko called on the Ukrainian parliament to take legislative measures to liquidate the Crimean parliament. “Today’s events practically begin the political and legal work of leaving the Ukrainian state, when from the Crimean parliament’s presidium the issues were raised of preparing documents to create a working group to introduce amendments to the Crimean constitution and to conduct a civic poll on Crimea’s status, as well as an appeal to the Russian Federation regarding Crimea’s autonomy,” he said.

Zenon Zawada: It’s a relief to see that Klyuyev wasn’t nominated for prime minister but the threat is not over. A compromise candidate without membership in any party, such as tycoon Petro Poroshenko, is the best solution to calm tensions.

It’s disturbing to see such starkly contrasting proposals to reform Ukraine’s governmental structure as a means out of the crisis. The situation wouldn’t be so troubling if the proposals had some common foundation. Instead we have proposals ranging from federalization, to a parliamentary-presidential republic, to keeping the current system of supreme power in the presidency, which is not only supported by Tymoshenko but Yanuokvych himself.

Given the starkly different approaches, and the huge geopolitical stakes involved with the Western and Russian governments intervening, we see the political crisis extending for many months.