Tuesday evening, when addressing the Kiev dwellers, the Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko stated President Viktor Yushchenko is not her ally and partner any longer. The conflict had been escalated on that day morning when the MP’s from Timoshenko’s bloc were the first to rush into the Hall Of Meetings of the Verkhovnaya Rada. Not only they blocked the rostrum but also took the president’s seat perfidiously. Opposition had never ventured to do so before.   

Viktor Yushchenko had been expected in the parliament on Tuesday to deliver his annual message. Foreign ambassadors, who had arrived at the Rada on that occasion, watched in astonishment the deputy Arutyunov sit in the chair of the head of state and the speaker Yazenyuk try to start the session speaking without microphone and being blocked by a crowd of “comrade-in-arms”. Only Viktor Chernomyrdin, the Russian Ambassador in Ukraine, used to the Ukrainian particularities, seemed to remain calm.    

The diplomats had to listen to the Ukrainian President in the lobby: Yushchenko made a statement from the speaker’s reception room being broadcast by four TV stations. The oppositional deputies, standing near the foreigners, felt free to crack jokes at the President’s address. 

What happened next was not shown on television. As soon as the president left, the spokesperson for Yulia Timoshenko appeared and said that the prime minister was also going to speak. Then the securities rushed into the room and attempted to make the journalists go out. After they failed to do that, the light was just turned off.   

Alexander Abdulin, the Timoshenko’s supporter responsible for her PR relations, was ready to go for stand fighting. The question was principal: the country had to see Yulia against same background. The TV picture was to stress their equal status. The conflict was settled only after Timoshenko herself appeared and then the light got turned on. 

The prime minister explained the radical actions by her supporters with allegation that the government is hindered in its struggle against inflation. She said the parliament must pass the urgent bills instead of listening to the president. However, the insider sources affirm that the social topics are just a disguise. 

In reality, the Timoshenko’s camp don’t want to allow administration of oath by the three new judges – promoted by Yushchenko - of the Constitutional Court, considering that soon the court will be considering the new project of the Constitution where the role by the President is going to be degraded. The text of the amended Constitution is being composed now by Yulia’s followers jointly with the Yanukovich’s Party Of Regions. The latter also wanted to block the rostrum on Tuesday, but failed to find a good pretext.

Today Timoshenko is struggling for same powers Yanukovich did last year. But fighting against that-time Donezk prime minister Yushchenko was able at least to lend the ideological color to the battle. This is why his rating increased after he dissolved the parliament then. But Timoshenko is the hero of Maidan like the president himself. In case of making her resign Yushchenko would lost the remnants of his popularity. So he has to watch helplessly his former comrade-in-arms to take away the power from him.