Ukraine's government faces a vote of no-confidence on Wednesday as newly elected President Viktor Yanukovich moves to oust arch rival Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and consolidate power.
The ruling coalition collapsed on Tuesday, almost a month after Tymoshenko lost to Victor Yanukovych in a presidential run-off that could tilt the former Soviet republic back towards closer ties with Russia.
Tymoshenko, co-architect of the pro-Western Orange Revolution of 2004, has refused to recognise Yanukovych’s victory, but no longer commands the support of myriad factions in the dysfunctional ruling alliance.
"If the dismissal of the government is passed today, at that very same moment our government will leave the cabinet," Tymoshenko told the assembly ahead of the vote. "Our political force will cross into the opposition."
Tymoshenko and her cabinet would normally be expected to stay as an acting government until a new one is voted in.
The collapse of the coalition suggests the vote of no-confidence will pass. Both must happen for Yanukovych loyalists to begin the process of creating a new government.
Weeks of horse trading are expected. The various parliamentary factions have 30 days to form a new coalition and 60 days to form a new government.
If they fail, Yanukovych has the right to call a new parliamentary election — a scenario feared by investors because it would prolong uncertainty for months as Ukraine continues to struggle without foreign lending.
Ukraine desperately needs political stability to tackle a debilitating economic crisis that saw GDP contract by 15 percent in 2009, to pass a budget for 2010, and then to restart talks with the International Monetary Fund on resuming a $16.4 billion bailout package.
