Ukraine's tenuous double act

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By Gabriel Gatehouse BBC News, Kiev

"A dictatorship of stupidity, irresponsibility and chaos" - the words of Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko giving her blunt assessment of Viktor Yushchenko's actions as president.The pair's political alliance persists despite huge personal rivalry

The two former Orange Revolution allies are supposed to be in a coalition government together, formed just over nine months ago. But any notion of co-operation, or even civility between the two rivals, has long since vanished.

There were two immediate causes behind the latest outbreak of hostilities. And both occurred during one parliamentary sitting on Tuesday.

Firstly, the prime minister's faction blocked a motion condemning Russia's recent actions in South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Then her MPs sided with the opposition Party of the Regions, to vote to curb the powers of the president.

This was too much for the members of the pro-presidential Our Ukraine party, and they left the chamber in protest.

Later they announced they were quitting the coalition - which had been teetering on the brink of collapse ever since it was formed at the beginning of the year.

Viktor Yushchenko accused his rival of a constitutional coup, and threatened to call snap elections.

Presidential bid?

Relations between Mr Yushchenko and Ms Tymoshenko have never been easy. But tensions have heightened since Russia took military action in Georgia a month ago.

The current crisis though is mostly the result not of policy differences, but of years of pure political rivalry <a class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/4035789.stm">Profile: Viktor Yushchenko</a><a class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/4848942.stm">Profile: Yulia Tymoshenko</a>

The president last month accused the prime minister of "treason" over what he sees as her insufficiently robust condemnation of Russia's actions in Georgia.

Mr Yushchenko has been staunch in his support for his Georgian counterpart, Mikhail Saakashvili. Early on in the conflict, he flew into Tbilisi to appear at a rally in support of Georgia.

Ms Tymoshenko has been less forthcoming with her opinions on the crisis. She has declined to condemn outright the decision by the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, to recognise the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

This has led some in Ukraine to speculate that she may be looking for Moscow's support for a possible bid for the presidency when elections are held in early 2010.

Potential flashpoints

While many Ukrainians, especially in the east of the country, feel a strong bond with Russia, there is also a sense of unease after events in Georgia last month.

Some in Kiev fear that parts of their country could be next in Moscow's sights.

The Crimean peninsula is seen as particularly vulnerable. It has a large ethnic Russian population, and is home to the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

The Ukrainian president has made it clear he wants all Russian ships out by 2017, when the current agreement expires.

The Russians say they want to stay, and the issue has become one of the flashpoints in the increasingly fraught relations between Kiev and Moscow.

The current crisis though is mostly the result not of policy differences, but of years of pure political rivalry.

Ms Tymoshenko herself has not said whether she intends to stand for the presidency in 2010, although most analysts believe she will. But if she did, and polls remained as they are today, she would be the favourite to win.