Our Ukraine, Tymoshenko Team Up To Form Opposition Bloc

On Saturday Our Ukraine and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc announced that they had signed an agreement to form a unified opposition force in the Rada. According to Tymoshenko, one of the fundamental goals of both parties is to dissolve parliament and hold new elections. Nick Piazza: At first glance it looks like this move will go a long way to strengthen both Yushchenko and Tymoshenko’s positions. The agreement calls on opposition forces not to override the President’s veto while at the same time calling on the President to veto any bill that the opposition considers “a threat to Ukraine’s democracy.” In this way the president has protected himself from situations similar to the passage of the law on the Cabinet, while at the same time giving himself and Tymoshenko the ability to bury laws put forward by the Cabinet. How strong this union will be will depend a great deal on the willingness of the Yuliafobic business wing of Our Ukraine to follow her line. Their loyalty to the president should keep them on board for a while, however don’t expect them to look very favorably on the possibility of pushing for early elections and the instability that would come with it.