Ukraine prime minister resigns over coalition collapse

KIEV: Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk resigned in a shock move yesterday after the collapse of the ruling parliamentary coalition paved the way for new legislative elections in the strife-torn ex-Soviet nation.
"I announce my resignation in connection with the dissolution of the parliamentary coalition and the blocking of government initiatives," a furious Yatsenyuk told parliament.
Yatsenyuk said the "government and the prime minister must resign" after several parties pulled out of the European Choice parliamentary majority, in a move that triggered the possibility of long-awaited early legislative polls.
Pro-Western Yatsenyuk – who has helped steer the country through upheaval since the ouster of Kremlin-backed leader Viktor Yanukovych in February – lashed out at the decision to pull the plug on the coalition as Kiev is struggling to end a bloody separatist insurrection tearing apart the east.
"Placing narrow political interests above the fate of the government is unacceptable. It is a moral and political crime," he blasted.
Parliament speaker Oleksandr Turchynov called on deputies to put forward immediately a candidate for a temporary premier "until parliamentary elections are held."
It was not immediately clear if Yatsenyuk or the cabinet remain in position as caretakers.
Early parliamentary elections in Ukraine have been expected since Viktor Yanukovych was kicked out of power following months of deadly protests.
The formal dissolution of the majority coalition in Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada came after the Udar party of former boxing champion Vitali Klitschko and the nationalist Svoboda group pulled out of the coalition after reports of political wrangling.
That step now gives President Petro Poroshenko the right over the next month to announce a fresh parliamentary poll. Poroshenko reacted to the move by saying that lawmakers were reacting to overwhelming popular demands for an "overhaul" of the legislative body.
The millionaire tycoon – who was elected in May – had pledged that the possibility of upcoming elections would not paralyse the government as the country teeters perilously on the brink of both economic collapse and territorial disintegration.
The possible elections have taken on added significance since recent changes in the constitution handed a raft of key powers from the president to parliament.
Analysts said that while Yatsenyuk's resignation need not prove disastrous it could lead to major economic problems if legislators couldn't agree on a new team to head up the country with a key tranche of money from the International Monetary Fund due soon.
"If Ukraine is left without a government for a long period, and a month in our situation is a long period ... then the situation will get worse very quickly," said Olena Bilan, chief economist at Dragon Capital investment company.
Meanwhile others said that despite the perilous situation in the country, Ukraine's political class – briefly united against Yanukovych and in the face of the armed insurgency in the east – had slipped back into squabbling and infighting.
"There is no money in the country, there is nothing to finance the military operation but politicians are still playing their games of who can get more power," said Vadym Karasev, an analyst at Kiev's Institute of Global Strategies. – AFP