“Mr. Yushchenko is prompting himself to take part in the positive changes already underway and is begging the president, the initiator of these changes, to do some asking.” This is how Volodymyr Semynozhenko, leader of the Party of Regions and Vice Premier of Ukraine commented to Forum (www.for-ua.com) on Mr. Yushchenko’s letter. Viktor Yushchenko read out the open letter to the president at a press conference on August 29, in which he suggested that the head of state sign an agreement on joint actions between “the democratically formed Verkhovna Rada majority and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine..., support the initiative of Our Ukraine to establish a parliamentary majority based on the political force that won the parliamentary elections..., and “appoint a coalition government formed by the parliamentary majority.”
According to Mr. Semynozhenko, “one should join as an equal, instead of trying to lead, the current transformation processes and conduct a civilized dialog rather than resort to blackmail and political begging... The leitmotif of the Yushchenko letter is as follows: give Our Ukraine portfolios... The impression is that Our Ukraine has been pressured by its political creditors who demand urgent compensation for the funds they invested in the elections.”
In Mr. Semynozhenko’s opinion, the letter’s idea that “...the current parliament is able to form a democratic majority, set up a coalition government on its basis and assume responsibility for the situation in Ukraine” needs no additional argumentation today. This is not even a tendency but a reality to which the president has assigned the status of well-understood necessity. The vice premier thinks that the speculations that “...the current economic situation is not only deteriorating but is also creating conditions that endanger the future of the Ukrainian economy” are not only absurd and out of place but also totally groundless. “Viktor Yushchenko must be talking about the Afghan, not Ukrainian, economy... In reply to Viktor Yushchenko’s words that the current government is illegitimate, i.e., it does not enjoy the support of a parliamentary majority — to be formed, of course, by Our Ukraine — I would like to ask: should we also declare the previous Verkhovna Rada illegitimate because it made a negative assessment of his team’s work?” In his opinion, “one should make one’s own conclusion whether Our Ukraine is a systematic political force able to conduct a dialog with or a fragment of an unsystematic opposition, which only enjoys the rights of a political minority. And it is time to cut short all the self-deception over Our Ukraine’s election landslide. If OU members won, as they claim, 80% of seats with 112 deputies actually sitting in parliament, then there should be a total of not 450 deputies but 240... Blackmailing the government and society with illusions and trying to translate one’s own ‘political fantasies’ into a broad political contract with the president is a political gambit doomed to failure,” he concluded.
