Rada scoffs at UAH 1 bln for flu, votes to allocate UAH 200 mln

Yesterday the Verkhovna Rada threw out a law allocating UAH 1 bln to fight the flu pandemic. Amendments to the 2009 state budget on setting aside the UAH 1 bln were initially passed by parliament on November 3, but were vetoed by the president and returned to the Rada. Instead, a competing bill put forward by Party of Regions’ Mykola Azarov allocating UAH 200 mln received the support of 416 of 436 deputies, passing in its first reading. Brad Wells: The situation in Ukrainian politics has crossed into absurd in the run-up to the election, with the Rada transforming into a venue to make points to sway potential voters. This time, it’s Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko – who championed the UAH 1 bln allocation in the immediate aftermath of the H1N1 outbreak in Ukraine – that is hung out to dry. President Viktor Yushchenko and the Party of Regions-led opposition called her out for overreacting to the threat and claimed the UAH 1 bln was overkill and would have led to the NBU printing money to foot the bill.