Ukraine's parliament dismissed the government of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko today, handing arch rival President Viktor Yanukovich the difficult task of stitching together a new ruling coalition, according to Reuters. Deputies passed a motion of no confidence in Tymoshenko's administration, with 243 out of 450 voting in favour. The fall of the government came almost a month after Yanukovich defeated Tymoshenko, co-architect of the 2004 pro-Western Orange Revolution, in a bitter presidential run-off, a narrow victory that has yet to restore much-needed stability. Yanukovich's Regions Party will now seek to form its own coalition within 30 days and a government within another 60, or face a snap parliamentary election. "The (coalition) talks are not simple but I think they will be finalised in the coming days," Mykola Azarov, a close ally of Yanukovich and a likely candidate for the post of premier, told reporters after the vote. "We have lost time," Azarov told parliament earlier. "In 2-3 years (the economy) will return to the level of 2005. We have lost a minimum of 10 years in the years of Tymoshenko's rule." Even if Yanukovich succeeds in stitching together a coalition, the fractious nature of Ukraine's parliament and the limited powers of the presidency mean that the country -- split between a Russia-leaning east and south and a Western-friendly west and centre -- may yet face further political instability. "It's just a continuation of the problem," Oleksander Pchela, a 20-year-old student in Kiev, said of Wednesday's vote. "There's no unity, it's a battle for power. Tymoshenko will enter opposition, and will demand new elections. There's no end in sight while people vote for personalities but not for ideas."
