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"Orange" coalition could face pro-Russian party opposition

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The political scientist said that President Viktor Yushchenko was well aware his authority as the president would be undermined if "gas princess", who made a fortune in the energy business before entering politics in the mid-1990s, regained a leading role in the Cabinet. The Ukrainian leader fired Tymoshenko as prime minister a little over eight months after they had come to power.

MOSCOW, March 29 (RIA Novosti) - A mooted "orange" coalition in Ukraine could have a hard time managing the country if it encounters opposition from the pro-Russian Party of Regions, a prominent political scientist said Wednesday.

Although former allies in the 2004 "orange revolution" claiming they are ready to form a coalition government in the wake of Sunday's parliamentary election, a note of caution came from Konstantin Zatulin, the director of Russia's Institute of CIS Studies, a think tank studying issues within the loose alliance of states that replaced the Soviet Union.

"It will be difficult for 'orange' coalition to manage Ukraine if there is obstruction from such a major political force as the Party of Regions, especially in eastern and southern Ukraine," he said.

He said the participants in the possible "orange" coalition faced internal difficulties and conflicts. He added that the pro-presidential Our Ukraine bloc and the Socialist Party led by Oleksandr Moroz were cautious about such a charismatic and dangerous ally as former premier Yulia Tymoshenko and they would do everything possible to prevent her from returning to office.

The political scientist said that President Viktor Yushchenko was well aware his authority as the president would be undermined if "gas princess", who made a fortune in the energy business before entering politics in the mid-1990s, regained a leading role in the Cabinet. The Ukrainian leader fired Tymoshenko as prime minister a little over eight months after they had come to power.

"Moroz, in his turn, is afraid that his party would be dissolved in 'orange' coalition because part of his electorate changed allegiances to Yulia Tymoshenko," Zatulin said. "This is the problem of this coalition that itself is a proof of a political split in Ukraine."

Viktor Yanukovych, whose Party of Regions is clearly leading the parliamentary race with 31.26% of the vote, still has "room for maneuver," the expert said.

"Yanukovych should be patient because the economic situation in Ukraine will not improve during this time, but will become even worse," Zatulin said, adding that the Party of Regions would only benefit from the situation because it would not be responsible for the choice made by the "orange" coalition and would still control the political situation in several regions.

With 93.24% of Sunday's vote to the 450-seat Supreme Rada counted, the Party of Regions is followed by Tymoshenko's bloc (22.47%), Our Ukraine (14.48%), the Socialist Party (5.87%) and the Communist Party (3.63%).

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