UKRAINE: RADA SCHEDULES PM VOTE FOR DECEMBER 11

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KYIV 002977 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/07/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL UP SUBJECT: UKRAINE: RADA SCHEDULES PM VOTE FOR DECEMBER 11 Classified By: Ambassador for reasons 1.4(b,d). ¶1. (C) Summary. Rada Speaker Yatsenyuk ended another day of finger-pointing and delaying tactics in the Rada by announcing that the parliament would hold the confirmation vote on Tymoshenko as Prime Minister on Tuesday December 11 -- the end of the five-day deadline for considering a prime minister nomination as required by the Law on the Cabinet of Ministers and the Rada rules. Yatsenyuk and Tymoshenko also suggested that the Rada might also vote on the Cabinet on the same day. However, work in the Rada has once again been slowed by disagreements over assigning leadership positions -- deputy speakers and committee chairs -- within the parliament. Party of Regions blocked the rostrum December 6 and 7 obstructing work for short periods of time, while MP Azarov accused the majority coalition of not respecting his faction, prompting Yatsenyuk to scold MPs for treating the parliament like a circus. In an attempt to move things along, Tymoshenko offered to let the three opposition parties select the First Deputy Speaker in any way they chose, and offered to let Lytvyn Bloc and the Communists have first pick of committee chairmanships (angering Regions who expected to have first pick as the Rada's largest faction). However, public statements by members of Regions and Lytvyn Bloc showed there was no agreement over who the first deputy speaker would be. In addition, Lytvyn and his fellow MP Mykhaylo Syrota have been very clear that they do not see themselves as part of a united opposition with Regions, although Lytvyn added that neither do they intend to join the ruling coalition. ¶2. (C) Comment. The December 11 vote will be a chance for Tymoshenko to pass the final hurdle in her quest for the premiership and will depend upon whether she can shore up her support within the orange coalition, and possibly even with other non-coalition MPs. Rumors are circulating that Tymoshenko is offering unspecified government positions to minority MPs to gain their support, suggesting she is still uneasy about the vote. At the same time, Regions seems to be dragging its feet once again, but to what end is not clear since they seem to be weakening their bargaining power by refusing to cooperate. They have the opportunity to place one of their own in the First Deputy Speaker position, but have advocated for Communist MP Adam Martynyuk, a seeming non-starter for Lytvyn Bloc, as well as for some in the majority. They also had the opportunity to have the first pick of committee chairmanships, but could lose that strategic position if the two smaller factions take Tymoshenko up on her offer. Given the tensions between factions, Washington congratulatory calls will need to include the point that a new government and the Rada will need to find ways to work more cooperatively together in order to address key national concerns. End summary and comment. Rada Facing Busy Tuesday -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Yatsenyuk announced that the Rada had to vote on the prime minister nomination within five days of receiving the nomination from the President -- or by December 11, as required by the CabMin law and the Rada rules. He also cited Rada rules that dictate that the First Deputy and Deputy Speakers be elected before the PM vote. (Note. By this logic, the Rada should also distribute all committee leadership positions before the PM vote.) However, Yatsenyuk stressed that if no decision is made on the deputy speakers, he will move onto the PM vote regardless. In addition, Presidential Chief of Staff Baloha publicly reminded Tymoshenko and OU-PSD head Kyrylenko that the Presidential Secretariat was still expecting quick progress on the 12 laws SIPDIS laid out in the coalition agreement. ¶4. (SBU) Tymoshenko and Yatsenyuk both suggested that the Rada might consider the government slate on Tuesday. The constitution says the vote on PM takes place before ministers can be nominated, but once she is confirmed, Tymoshenko can present the ministerial nominees to the Rada. Tymoshenko implied that the two factions are not completely agreed on the nominees, even though the distribution of positions between the two coalition parties is clearly spelled out in the coalition agreement. Tymoshenko said she will conduct consultations with OU-PSD leaders and with Yushchenko over the weekend to work out the final slate of ministers. She also said she will conduct her own consultations with all five Rada factions on December 10 and 11. Regions Blocks Rada Rostrum -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Despite assurances Regions MP Miroshnychenko gave to KYIV 00002977 002 OF 002 us and that his faction gave to Yatsenyuk that Regions would not impede the Rada's work or consideration of Tymoshenko's nomination, the faction blocked the Speaker's rostrum both the evening of December 6 and the morning of December 7. On the latter day, about 10 MPs blocked the rostrum where MPs and Ministers speak from, another 20 blocked the Speaker's dais, and others sat in the Cabinet's box. Regions MP Shufrych said that they would continue to block the rostrum until the orange coalition agreed to a package vote on First Deputy Speaker and Deputy Speaker together, while MP Azarov said that they were there to protest the fact that the coalition was not treating Regions with more respect. ¶6. (SBU) Tymoshenko and Azarov then had a heated exchange on the Rada floor. Tymoshenko said that that the majority coalition was willing to support a package vote on the two deputy speakers. BYuT has already announced that Mykola Tomenko will be their candidate for Deputy Speaker; a job he held in the previous Rada convocation. Noting that the three minority parties have not been able to agree on who their nominee will be, Tymoshenko also offered to allow CPU and the Lytvyn Bloc to pick their committee leadership positions first and then to split the remaining committees between Regions and the coalition. She said that they were doing this to make sure that the small parties felt that they had equal rights. ¶7. (SBU) Azarov angrily responded by demanding that the majority coalition treat Regions with "respect." He said that Regions was "a big faction that did not tolerate ultimatums." He said that they had never been a destructive force and never would be, but that they would not stand for the majority's current treatment of Regions. (Note. Azarov was not specific about what ill treatment Regions had suffered at the hands of BYuT/OU-PSD. End note.) Azarov also accused Tymoshenko of offering high-level (unspecified) positions to Regions MPs if they would demonstrate loyalty to the orange team, an accusation that Lytvyn also made. ¶8. (C) Comment. Tymoshenko's comments in favor of a package vote suggest that Shufrych's stated reason for the blockade was a pretense, and that Regions is merely trying to stall. This could be a reaction, in part, to Tymoshenko's suggested committee distribution system, which was clearly aimed at drawing Lytvyn Bloc and CPU away from Regions by offering them plum committee chairmanships. Normally, the consultative council should distribute the chairmanships by allowing each political force to pick one position at a time until all leadership spots are assigned. BYuT and OU-PSD have said publicly that they would be willing to give the key Budget Committee to Regions as the main opposition party, but should Lytvyn Bloc get first pick, they would be likely to scoop this committee up -- a possibility underscored by Turchynov's December 7 comment that BYuT was fine with Lytvyn Bloc taking control of the budget process. If Tymoshenko is trying to woo Lytvyn Bloc and Regions MPs to support her, it suggests she is still worried about the numbers for her confirmation vote. End comment. First Deputy Speaker Undecided -------------- ¶9. (C) Underscoring the lack of consensus among the three minority parties, Regions MP Hrytsak announced December 7 that his party, the Communists, and Lytvyn Bloc would support Communist Adam Martynyuk for First Deputy Speaker, but Lytvyn Bloc MP Syrota said his faction had agreed to nothing and said he doubted that they would support anyone from the Communist camp. Syrota also stressed that his party was not in joint opposition with Regions and CPU; a claim made by some in Regions. Regions MP Kolesnikov later said that there would be no decision on deputy speaker until all three factions were in agreement. ¶10. (SBU) Yatsenyuk adjourned the Rada session with an impassioned plea for the factions to act constructively. He said that they were making the Rada a "laughing-stock" and "circus" by continually blocking the rostrum. He also asked all factions to reach compromises at the coordination council and then communicate those decisions back to their MPs, so that all would honor the agreements reached by Rada leadership. ¶11. (U) Visit Embassy Kyiv's classified website: www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/kiev. Taylor