Ukraine Gridlock Prolonged as Bid to Oust Premier Fails

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. REUTERS / Michael Dalder

Ukraine headed for a standoff between its two most powerful politicians after Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk defied President Petro Poroshenko‘s call for his resignation and defeated a no-confidence motion in parliament.

The result threatens to conserve political gridlock that‘s jeopardizing the economy and billions of dollars of foreign aid. The motion to remove Yatsenyuk can‘t be repeated during the current sitting of parliament, which ends in July. While Tuesday‘s vote failed, it „demonstrated that this government already has no parliament support, it will not be able to carry out laws,“ said Yuriy Lutsenko, the parliamentary head of Poroshenko‘s party.

Ukrainians and the nation‘s foreign backers are losing patience with delays in fighting corruption and modernizing the economy amid a recession and a pro-Russian insurgency that‘s killed 9,000 people. Two top reformers quit this month, alleging graft within the ruling coalition. The president and his team swept to power after a popular uprising and promised to bring European levels of transparency to the ex-Soviet republic after decades of misrule. They now also have to contend with a deepening conflict within the government.