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WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE PUSTOVOITENKO CABINET AFTER MARCH 29?

10 March, 00:00

The elections approach. It is a turning point for the government, and after it the fate of our government seems vague. On the one hand it may function for some time until the new parliament's composition is determined. On the other hand many officials know that they will be dismissed because the new Verkhovna Rada will make a fresh start. Since our government doesn't function as one team with the common purpose, there are only separate governmental functionaries. Each of them makes his own future plans: some run in the elections, some improve the welfare of their families according to the President's dictates... And it is unlikely that members of Valery Pustovoitenko's government will keep their posts after the elections: when it comes to their personal life rather than national matters, they see the real situation very clearly. They can estimate their chances much more thoroughly than what they have accumulated in the hinterland. The Constitutional Court has kept the 4% limit. Meaning we should not expect that the government will be filled with newcomers most loyal to President Kuchma. The hope that our President will realize his pipe dream and put a lock on the unreliable Verkhovna Rada is fading fast. The Russian Federation, having made Ukraine its vassal, is not in a great hurry to pay for its satisfaction. First, they don't need to buy the leftovers from our collapse; they have their own at home. Second, there is no sense in doing it: the Reds can suddenly come and take it all no matter if it is theirs or someone else's.

There are different versions concerning Pustovoitenko government: we may experience the alliance with the Left (if we take into account what Oleksandr Moroz mentioned about the possible cooperation) or full "evacuation." But there is still a chance to find out if the President was right in saying that the Pustovoitenko cabinet would keep working to the very end, that is to say, to the presidential elections.

Photo by Hlib Horanych, Reuters:
The Prime Minister is ready...

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№5, (1998)

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