The pro-presidential Party of Regions, with its allies from the Communist Party and many independents, is still very much in charge. The party gathered an impressive majority of 252 votes – 26 more than necessary – to confirm Mykola Azarov for a new term as prime minister. The majority’s candidate for speaker, Volodymyr Rybak, got an impressive 250 votes.
The opposition is energized, spoiling for a fight but lacking discipline, unity and direction – beyond wanting to end the rule of President Viktor Yanukovych, whose speech via video was walked out on by members of the opposition. For now, it seems as though many new members of parliament are excited about having been elected and want to bask in the spotlight of media and public attention.
The entire gathering remains an international embarrassment for lawmakers’ fisticuffs and name-calling. Children in playgrounds across Ukraine act with greater maturity and civility.
It still remains hard to discern whether this Verkhovna Rada will be an improvement over the previous one, which was a rubber-stamp institution for the president’s policies.
Perhaps it is wishful thinking, but one can still hope that the president, prime minister, speaker and members of parliament will replay the videotape of the recent session and come to their senses before the Verkhovna Rada reconvenes on Dec. 18. Let’s hope they will gather calmly behind closed doors and draw up a list of priorities where their interests coincide – and let the betterment of life for 46 million Ukrainians be at the top of the list.
Yanukovych has more cards to play than the opposition. He could defuse some of the animosity to him, here and abroad, by loosening his increasingly authoritarian grip, heeding calls for the freedom of his political opponents and, in general, finding areas of genuine compromise with opposition leaders. He should recognize that 70 percent of voters rejected his party in the last election and, if he doesn’t change course, an equal or greater number of voters will do the same when he seeks re-election in 2015.
