Ukraine
The recently re-elected Ukrainian President, Leonid Kuchma, faces
staunch opposition from the parliament. In order to prevent
political gridlock from dominating his five-year term, Kuchma will
need to cater to the nationalists in parliament by adopting their
main platforms. As a result, we are likely to see Ukraine shifting
from its pro-West position to one more balanced between Russia and
the West.
Following his defeat in the Nov. 14 presidential election, Petro
Symonenko, leader of the Ukrainian Communist Party, has made it
increasingly clear that he will try to thwart Kuchma. Symonenko
alleged on Nov. 17 that Kuchma was getting ready to plunder the
nation, reported the Ukrainian news agency UNIAN, and promised that
parliament would work out "adequate measures" to counter the
president's administration.
Symonenko can use his party in the national legislature to resist
Kuchma's domestic initiatives. The Communists control almost 25
percent of the seats in parliament and are beginning to wield
power. The smaller parties are not generally unified and are
failing to block the communists. The next largest party controls
less than 10 percent of the seats, and most of the parties have
less.
Already, a potential stalemate between the president and the
national legislature is emerging. The parliament recently adopted a
bill that propo