Party of Regions seeks to unseat Tymoshenko government

The Party of Regions is looking for support to oust Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and the Cabinet of Ministers over their opposition to increased social standards, which was signed into law by President Viktor Yushchenko and passed in the Verkhovna Rada with a Regions-led majority. A Regions deputy said yesterday that it collected 120 signatures in support so far, according to local media reports. Brad Wells: A no-confidence vote in the Rada would need 226 votes – implying that Regions needs the support of a number of Our Ukraine Bloc deputies. Given that they pooled their votes to pass the social standards law in the first place, there is a clearly a chance of the motion passing. Even influential Tymoshenko Bloc member Mykola Tomenko said Yushchenko and Viktor Yanukovich, the Party of Regions leader, seem to be in sync on this issue. The Regions’ initiative represents yet another destabilizing move by a major political force ahead of the elections. We see this brinksmanship in word and action continuing as long as there is the temptation to score points with voters and against rival presidential candidates ahead of the elections.