BYUT and Party of Regions will join forces to topple Yushchenko – Volodymyr Kornilov

August22200819:02

Commenting on the list of most influential Ukrainians made by The Korrespondent, Kornilov says he has no doubt that Yulia Tymoshenko has one of the highest approval ratings in Ukraine, although he suspects the magazine’s links to the premier.

As regards voter support for Yanukovych, Kornilov says The Korrespondent was too early to put him down the list. “It is too early to discard the politician who has the highest or second highest rating,” he opines. He points out, however, that the fact that Yanukovych has kept a low profile in the last several months looks strange, as the presidential campaign is under way. He explains this by the need to prepare for the race. But to compete with Tymoshenko on an equal footing, Yanukovych has to start his campaign, he says.

As there is no alternative to Yanukovych in the PR, the party will soon start campaigning for him, he notes.

Verkhovna Rada is unlikely to operate smoothly until the presidential election: “Even if BYUT joins forces with the PR, the incumbent will derail the work of the parliament,” Kornilov forecasts. He also stresses that both BYUT and PR have no other priority goals than snap presidential election.