Orange Leader Has To Make Up With Woman He Fired
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
KIEV, Ukraine – Ukraine’s estranged Orange Revolution leaders were forced into uneasy coalition talks yesterday after voters snubbed President Yushchenko at the ballot box, dealing his party a resounding defeat in the first parliamentary election since he took power 15 months ago.
Mr. Yushchenko may have to turn to his charismatic former prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, whose bloc leapfrogged into second place, polling nearly 24% of the vote so far.
As joint leaders of the protests, they were an ideal couple, but as partners in government, they seemed totally unsuited to each other, and Mr. Yushchenko eventually sacked her after details of infighting within his administration were explosively made public last September.
Mrs. Tymoshenko’s position tried to push for an immediate coalition agreement with the president yesterday. “We don’t have another path,” she said. “It’s our only option.” The share of the vote is enough for the two blocs to hold more than 50% of the seats.
