Yushchenko, Tymoshenko part ways.

A little less than a year ago, my computer's wallpaper was a picture of two Ukrainian revolutionaries standing together in their crusade for democracy, their names were Viktor Yushchenko and Yulia "Lady Yu" Tymoshenko. Well, I guess those days are over, and that makes me really sad.

A few days ago, now-President Yushchenko fired Prime Minister Tymoshenko and her entire cabinet. Yushchenko claimed that Tymoshenko's government was ineffective, constantly bickering, and possibly corrupt. The new Prime Minister is a little-known regional governor who has much more personal loyalty to the President than Lady Yu, having been a member the same party as Yushchenko before the "Orange Revolution" last year (Tymoshenko leads her own coalition of parties, "The Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc").

I'm really not sure which side to take here. On one hand, this does look like something of a power-grab by Yushchenko. On the other hand, Tymoshenko has supposedly been involved in some business dealings of questionable legality in the past, and was wanted by Interpol at one point (though not currently). She says that the charges against her were a political move by the former regime; they have since been dropped due to lack of evidence.

I have great respect for both Viktor Yushchenko and Yulia Tymoshenko because of their role in bringing democracy to Ukraine. Now, they have taken the next step by forming two separate and viable pro-democracy parties, and a viable opposition is central element of democracy. It will be interesting to watch Ukrainian politics now that Yushchenko and Tymoshenko are no longer allies, as Lady Yu was the primary orator of the Orange Revolution and is just as popular as Yushchenko himself.

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