KIEV, September 30 (RIA Novosti) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko told a news conference Friday that the dismissal of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and her Cabinet September 8, as well as the subsequent reshuffling of the presidential secretariat, was a "rigorous test" to their successors.
"An open, frank debate has unfolded in Ukraine for the first time, and not just on politics," the presidential press office said in a comment.
Yushchenko said a possible fall in the government's approval rating should not be over-dramatized, bearing in mind that "in the past eight months, the nation [had] experienced a rather severe political shock."
The Ukrainian leader said the public was not always well informed about government policies and, therefore, unable to take a clear-cut stance. He said authorities should explain to the community what they were doing so that the public would not base its judgments on rumors and stories.
