The Ukrainian Borgias

Now it has been confirmed that Ukrainian opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko was in fact poisoned with a massive dose of dioxins in an attempt to prevent him from winning the presidency of the Ukraine.

In a couple of weeks (December 26) Ukrainians will once again be asked to vote for their president. The cost of obtaining this new vote was meeting demands of the old soviet-style guard that the powers of the presidency be significantly curtailed. If you wanted confirmation that the first round was rigged, this is it.

Mr. Yanukovych, who came within an inch of stealing the last round sees the writing on the ballots and knows he cannot win the upcoming election if it is held in on a reasonably free and fair baisis. He also knows that there will be thousands of international observers (500 from Canada alone) who will cry foul if he tries to repeat his electoral shenanigans.

Tacitly acknowleging the likelihood of defeat in the presidential election, the old guard is now engaged in a rear guard action, reducing presidential powers in order to try and retain political power through control of the the legislative branch. May they not succeed.