President Boris Yeltsin appeared set last night to reject a draft accord which would have seen him surrender some of the Russian presidency's immense constitutional powers.
A short-lived political consensus broke down as Mr Yeltsin's stubbornness threatened the "breakthrough" draft political accord reached yesterday by Russia's constitutional triangle of parliament, government and president.
Asked on television about constitutional amendments, the president said: "No. Not yet. A committee could be set up. That could be done."
Without Mr Yeltsin's signature on the accord, the left-patriot opposition which dominates the lower house of parliament, the Duma, will not approve Mr Viktor Chernomyrdin as prime minister and there will be no government to tackle the financial crisis which has sent the rouble into free fall.
Last night the leader of the biggest party in the Duma, Mr Gennady Zyuganov, said his Communists had rejected the accord and would not vote for Mr Chernomyrdin.
The whole premise of talks on the accord over the weekend was that Mr Yeltsin was willing to be weaned off his autocratic powers and fade into the background, transferring the weight of decision-making to the government and whatever majority coalition the Duma can come up with.
But Mr Yeltsin said he wanted to see at least a year of committee work before amending the constitution could even be discussed by parliament. If his timetable was followed, work would not be finished until after presidential elections in 2000.
As Russians return from holiday this week to face economic chaos and a 40 per cent cut in their purchasing power, the answer to the question of who is in charge has never been less clear.
The situation is the critical test of Mr Chernomyrdin. He is only useful to parliament if he can deliver Mr Yeltsin's partial retirement, and only useful to Mr Yeltsin if he can protect his clan from the wrath of parliament and the business community. The prime minister-designate must make a choice - govern with parliament or without it.
The proposed accord included an 18-month non-aggression pact. During that time parliament, government and president would not attempt to unseat each other.
It also called for changes to the constitution to give parliament, rather than the president, the dominant role in shaping governments.
Last night Mr Grigory Yavlinsky, leader of the liberal Yabloko movement, which has about a tenth of the Duma's seats, rubbished the accord. "As soon as we vote for Chernomyrdin, this piece of paper will be thrown in the bin," he said.
The Duma had been due to vote on Mr Chernomyrdin's candidacy today, but this now seems unlikely.
Earlier a cheerful Mr Chernomyrdin said he and fellow negotiators had "virtually won advance approval" of the accord. "The rouble is hanging by a thin thread," he said. "Decisions must be made . . . The country cannot function without a government."
A hint of one possible solution was given by the expected arrival in Moscow of Argentina's former economic minister, Dr Domingo Cavallo, at the invitation of the deputy prime minister, Mr Boris Fyodorov. Dr Cavallo was responsible for curbing hyper-inflation in Argentina by introducing a currency board.
The deadlock could cause considerable embarrassment for the US President, Mr Bill Clinton, who arrives tomorrow for a three-day visit. No matter whom he meets among the leadership, he will be distracting them from the task of hammering out a compromise - or, even more uncomfortably, will be drawn into the horse-trading himself.
It is hard to see what grounds there are for progress in talks when Mr Chernomyrdin is bent on assuring the West, and principally the IMF, that Russia will stick to the market reform path, while Mr Zyuganov is demanding that the IMF's recommendations be watered down.