Ukraine: Watch this space

Last week saw a flurry of activity in Ukraine, which may lead to bigger developments on a number of fronts.

First, the country’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, voted overwhelmingly to hold presidential elections on October 25 — instead of January, next year, as had been expected. President Viktor Yushchenko had been pushing for the January date, and may still challenge the scheduling in court. But then he also made noises that he would accept an October vote if parliamentary elections were also moved up and held at the same time. And he said he would announce soon whether or not he would run — still an incredible prospect, given his approval ratings hover around 2 percent.

Then the main opposition party, the Party of Regions, in parliament formed a human wall around the speaker’s podium and barricaded doors to block passage of a new reform program, which needs to be accepted for Ukraine to restart a desperately needed, and oft-delayed, IMF bailout plan. Party of Regions officials say the government’s program is poorly conceived and not comprehensive enough. IMF officials are due to visit Kiev again this week.

And on Friday, POR held a demonstration on Kiev’s central Independence Square. Possibly 10,000 assembled, and party leader Viktor Yanukovich spoke. The size of the gathering was not so much an indication of POR’s popularity, as much as their organizational abilities.

In Ukrainian politics — which at the moment seems to resemble more the clown interlude between the main acts than it does an actual circus — Party of Regions is as despised and discredited as the other two main political groupings, Yushchenko’s Our Ukraine and the Block of Yulia Tymoshenko.

Elections, economy, demonstrations — events in Ukraine are converging for what could be a fun-filled spring.

http://www.globalpost.com/notebook/russia-and-its-neighbors/090406/ukraine-watch-space