Yushchenko nominates Tymoshenko as new Ukrainian PM

UKRAINE:Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko nominated Yulia Tymoshenko to be Ukraine's new prime minister yesterday, apparently sealing a reconciliation in their rocky relationship.

The two party leaders, who both want Ukraine to join the EU and break free from Russian domination, swept to power in the 2004 Orange Revolution, but a fierce clash of personalities and policies soon after saw Mr Yushchenko sack Ms Tymoshenko from the post of premier.

After months of squabbling, they reunited for September's general election in a loose alliance against her successor as prime minister, Viktor Yanukovich, and won enough combined votes to form a slender parliamentary majority that should allow them to oust Mr Yanukovich's more Moscow-friendly party from government.

"I will do everything so that the Ukrainian parliament and a fully-fledged government can begin work as quickly as possible," Mr Yushchenko said after nominating Ms Tymoshenko, adding that unity in their alliance was vital if reforms were to be successful.

"The main thing is that, in votes, the coalition not be subject to friction on issues that could cause cracks in its attempts to consolidate. Every vote should count."

In her previous stint as prime minister, the combative Ms Tymoshenko regularly criticised the more conciliatory Mr Yushchenko, often clashed with Russia, and unsettled investors with a threat to review many dubious post-Soviet privatisations.

Mr Yanukovich says Ms Tymoshenko's anti-Russian rhetoric has nationalist overtones that will deepen divisions between her stronghold in western Ukraine and the pro-Moscow, largely Russian-speaking east of the country, which is his power base. He also accuses her of proposing populist policies that would be expensive failures.

Deputies from Ms Tymoshenko's party said parliament would vote to approve her nomination either today or next Tuesday, and were confident that she would secure the 226 votes necessary to become prime minister.

The reformed "orange coalition" holds only 227 seats in parliament, however, and last-minute defections occur regularly in Ukraine's turbulent politics.

To be sure of approval, Ms Tymoshenko's allies hope to secure support from the Lytvyn Bloc, which holds 20 seats and has so far refused to support any major party.

Asked whether Ms Tymoshenko would win parliament's approval, Volodymyr Fesenko of the Penta research centre said her chances were "really not bad, but not certain". Analysts say Mr Yushchenko is keen to maintain an alliance with Ms Tymoshenko to prevent her challenging him in a presidential election due in 2010 or 2011.