Ukraine's parliament has again proven to be one of the world's fiercest. But at least this time the brawl began in gentlemanly fashion.
A debate inside Ukraine's parliament ahead of a vote of no-confidence in the government of Arseniy Yatsenyuk Friday quickly devolved into a bizarre tussle after one lawmaker walked up to the prime minister and handed him a bouquet of red roses before trying to pick him up and carry him away from the podium.
The party of the Western-friendly Yatsenyuk, is part of the pro-European ruling coalition in parliament that includes the party of President Petro Poroshenko and came to power after the Euromaidan revolution last year. The coalition has since soured, however, amid a flurry of corruption scandals and failures to implement much needed reforms. Yatsenyuk himself is under the microscope after it was alleged that one of his close allies and head of his party in parliament had embezzled millions of dollars.
Many parliamentarians, including those from the coalition, have become fed up with Yatsenyuk and have called for his ouster. That's what they were hoping for on Friday with a no-confidence vote.
But that hope was dashed after Oleh Barna, a lawmaker from the Bloc of Petro Poroshenko, tried to forcefully remove Yatsenyuk from the rostrum during his speech in which he was to report on his cabinet's progress on year after taking office. The prime minister had defended his government, saying it had "achieved a lot during this past year... but we still need to jointly accomplish much more."
Ukraine's Western allies, particularly the United States, has warned against disbanding the government, a move could plunge the war-racked and cash-starved country deeper into crisis.
The conflict in the east against Russian-backed separatists is still simmering, with a recent spike in fighting threatening a fragile ceasefire. The United Nations this week said more than 9,000 people have been killed since the onslaught of fighting in April 2014.
Vice President Joe Biden, speaking from the podium inside parliament on Tuesday, warned Kiev against backsliding in its fight against corruption, urging lawmakers to pass crucial reforms, some of which would be difficult to accept.
"The world is watching you — this is your moment. Please, for the sake of the rest of us, don't waste it," Biden said.
Posting a photo of the parliament scuffle on Twitter, one lawmaker wrote, "Just like Biden ordered."
Прям как Байден завещал. pic.twitter.com/1Bb8m051Gx— Alex Ryabchyn (@alexrbchn) December 11, 2015
The world was watching on Friday. But what they saw was not a group of lawmakers ready to make tough choices for the best of the country. Instead, they watched a notoriously rowdy parliament return to its same old dysfunctional ways.
But at least the world got this meme:
простите pic.twitter.com/DmbnO4o2iA— СТРАДАЮЩЕЕ СВ (@souffrantmitte1) December 11, 2015
pic.twitter.com/uIjgWU0fVG— Ukrainian Mistress (@JuMistress) December 11, 2015
And another. h/t @manity888 pic.twitter.com/iA5NNwH4GY— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) December 11, 2015