Instead of letting them phase in following the New Year, President Yushchenko wants to hold a popular referendum on the constitutional changes that were agreed upon during the Orange Revolution last year. I smell a — dun dun dun — political ploy!

KIEV (Reuters) – President Viktor Yushchenko said on Friday constitutional changes reducing his powers from the New Year could destabilise Ukraine and suggested he might call for a referendum on the matter.

The changes, approved by parliament a year ago at the height of Ukraine’s “Orange Revolution”, were part of a deal to win broad agreement on restaging a rigged presidential election.

Yushchenko won the re-run against a candidate backed by Russia and took office in January.

“The biggest threat is that we could end up with unbalanced and therefore ineffective government in Ukraine. The balance is shifting toward institutions that cannot properly ensure stability,” Yushchenko said in a television interview.

“The current balance is also not ideal. But what is proposed could hurt relations between the various branches of power. The issue of a referendum will be on the agenda.”

Under the current changes due to come into effect on January 1, 2006 the president is no longer free to nominate the prime minister and other key ministers.

Critical appointments will have to enjoy the support of a majority in what is often a fractious chamber. And with a parliamentary election due in March, the prime minister will almost certainly emerge from the largest group in the chamber.

The changes were originally proposed by Yushchenko’s predecessor Leonid Kuchma — whose chosen successor lost last year’s long and bruising presidential election.

Urged on by European mediators, particularly ex-Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, Yushchenko reluctantly agreed to the changes to end last year’s upheaval.

The most important power that Yushchenko will lose, of course, is the ability to nominate the prime minister. He used to support the changes; that is, when his and his party’s poll numbers were doing well. But with parliamentary elections coming up in March, and his party sagging by the double-digits behind one time rival Viktor Yanukovich’s party, he no longer does. Yulia Tymoshenko now supports the changes, having been fired by Yushchenko earlier in the year and poll numbers showing her just about par with his party. She’s working to regain her old job as prime minister and, under the changes, Yushchenko wouldn’t be able to stop her.

The real worry for Yushchenko is that the balance of power in the Rada is going to shift after the elections. With both he and Tymoshenko polling in the teens, and the Regions party polling in the 20s, it looks like Yanukovich could become the prime minister with extended powers. This is why Yushchenko is trying to prevent this by putting the changes up to a referendum and seeing them fail. Of course, he won’t be able to do it alone. The really interesting thing will be seeing whether Yushchenko and Tymoshenko can team back up to form a parliamentary majority, or if one of them will break and team up with Yanukovich’s team.