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1/10/2006
UKRAINIAN GOVERNMENT SACKED OVER GAS DEAL
Remember that whole deal between Russia and Ukraine that ended the gas crisis that the press and diplomats all over the place were cheering over like a teenage boy getting his first lap dance? Well, if youve been reading Publius then youd know that there was some pretty shady behind-the-scenes dealing going on. Ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, the fireband corruption fighter of the Orange Revolution, revealed the true details of the plan several days ago and uh oh! it looks like the Yushchenko government was conveniently hiding a couple of details from the public; details that ultimately expose that the deal is ultimately corrupt.
A middleman company set up by Ukrainian investors loyal to Yushchenko and political allies of Putin stand to make millions of dollars, something the Yushchenko government neither revealed nor can explain. Also, the deal of $90 is only good for six months, conveniently after the parliamentary elections. And that price is only reached in the first place because the newly imported gas is mixed with gas from Central Asia. Despite what the government said, the Russians are actually getting the full $230 they asked for for their gas! Meanwhile, the Yushchenko government also gave up its right to exclusively import gas from Central Asian contries and bypass Russia. Ultimately, it has left Ukraine too dependant on Russia. Parliament has set up a commission to investigate.
Ultimately, the deal has been determined to not only to be corrupt, but to be against the national interest as well. Not only is Yushchenkos one-time revolutionary ally voting against him, but so is his other ally in parliament, the part of parliamentary speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn. Even most of his own party chose not to vote The result? An overwhelming majority of deputies in the parliament have voted no confidence in Prime Minister Yekhanurov and his cabinet over the deal, but have asked him to stay on until March. Here is a report from the Financial Times included in todays Action Ukraine Report:
The Ukrainian parliament on Tuesday voted to oust Prime Minister Yuri Yekhanurovs government over last weeks gas deal with Russia which in effect doubled the price of gas to the country.
A no-confidence motion was backed by 250 deputies in the 450-seat parliament, outraged by the deal with Russia. Mr Yekhanurov claimed the vote was not legally binding and vowed to continue in office until parliamentary elections, due in March. Analysts disagreed whether parliament had the power to dismiss the cabinet.
Yulia Tymoshenko, the former prime minister of Ukraine and once a close ally of President Viktor Yushchenko, backed opposition efforts to sack officials who agreed to the sharp rise in gas prices.
Her faction in parliament supported the no-confidence vote overwhelmingly, as did the Communist Party and the Popular Bloc, the party of parliamentary speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn, also formerly one of the presidents allies.
Almost half the deputies of Mr Yushchenkos party Our Ukraine chose not to vote.
Wait. Stop for a second! The most important thing we have to realize that just happened here is the parliament fired the cabinet. You may remember that Tymoshenko and her cabinet were dismissed earlier this year by Yushchenko himself. The difference between now and then is that constitutional changes agreed upon during the Orange Revolution went into effect on January 1st and has transferred more powers to the parliament; namely, that it can put form and dismiss governments without the presidents approval. Yushchenko says that the no confidence vote is unconstitutional and that he will challenge it in the countrys Constitutional Court. Its unclear what legal basis he will be challenging it on, and I dont think hell be able to find much of one. Its also unlikely that the issue will be examined before the March parliamentary elections anyway, but he and Yekhanurov are promising to save the gas deal at all costs.
The importance of this no confidence vote is not just the political ramifications for Yushchenko and the other political actors on Ukraines stage, but that the parliament is specifically asserting its newfound powers in the face of a traditionally strong presidency. Its the beginning of the shift from presidential to parliamentary democracy. That tug-o-war struggle is exemplified in the current crisis and will only deepen once a new parliament is elected that is further diametrically opposed to Yushchenko. However, this is necessary to secure governance that is more responsive to people and less corrupt than presidential systems tend to be.
