Yushchenko's Foreign Minister Approved, Ally Abandons Opposition

President Yushchenko’s nominee for Foreign Minister, former Economic Minister and Presidential Aide Arseniy Yatsenuik was backed by the Rada with over 426 votes. Yesterday, Volodymyr Ohryzko acting Foreign Minister failed to get the 226 votes needed from the Rada to be named to the post. In related news long-time Yushchenko ally and head of the one of the parties that make up the President’s Our Ukraine Bloc, Anotoliy Kinakh, is planning to join the ruling coalition and be appointed Economic Minister in Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich’s government. Nick Piazza: Despite working for Yushchenko, Yatsenuik is generally considered apolitical and is a rising star on Ukraine’s political scene. Kinakh’s departure also comes as little surprise as he was one of the main forces pushing for Our Ukraine to form a coalition with Regions following last March’s elections. As we predicted earlier, the subjugation of Our Ukraine to the Tymoshenko Block and Yulia Tymoshenko’s subsequent call for new elections rubbed Kinakh and his business-minded supporters the wrong way. However, the departure of Kinakh and his followers (about 15 MPs) will not end the current standoff between the government and opposition as it still does not give Yanukovich’s camp enough votes to override Presidential vetoes, the tool the opposition has been using to stall government initiatives it disapproves of.