KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine's parliament on Tuesday restored Yulia Tymoshenko as prime minister, sealing a political comeback for a leading figure from the former Soviet country's "Orange Revolution" three years ago.
By Yuri Kulikov
KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine's parliament on Tuesday restored Yulia Tymoshenko as prime minister, sealing a political comeback for a leading figure from the former Soviet country's "Orange Revolution" three years ago.
Tymoshenko, who confronted a powerful coalition led by outgoing prime minister Viktor Yanukovich, won 226 votes in the chamber, the exact number required to take office. Her adversaries took no part in the vote.
Tymoshenko roused vast crowds in Kiev's Independence Square in the pro-Western "Orange Revolution" that swept President Viktor Yushchenko to office. She was prime minister for seven months before the two fell out and he sacked her in 2005.
!ADVERTISEMENT!They reconciled for a September parliamentary election. She now heads a coalition of her own bloc and his Our Ukraine party which controls 227 votes in an often fractious chamber.
"Obviously it was a razor-thin victory...It shows how split parliament is and shows how split the coalition itself is," said Ivailo Vesselinov, an analyst with Dresdner Kleinwort.
"This means the government will be fragile. Any legislation and reforms - there will be a number of question marks. (Relations with Russia) won't be as bad as last time. She has moderated her rhetoric a lot."
Tymoshenko says she will uphold the ideals of the 2004 Revolution which pledged to build closer ties with the West and eventually seek membership of the European Union and NATO.
She has said her priorities will be to clean up corruption still rampant in Ukraine 16 years after independence from Soviet rule and proceed with vital economic, judicial and political reforms including a corruption-free privatization program.
OUTGOING PM SEES INSTABILITY
Speaker Arseniy Yatsenyuk grinned broadly as his vote, the last to be counted in the chamber, gave Tymoshenko the numbers she needed to win the ballot.
A beaming Tymoshenko, wearing her traditional peasant braid and a white dress, was then surrounded by applauding supporters.
After parliamentary officials confirmed the tally, she took her seat in the chamber's government section.
Yushchenko was absent for the vote, but said on his Web site that the outcome provided grounds that the coalition's "steps to tackle the country's top priorities will prove successful."
Yanukovich, given the floor before the chamber voted, predicted Tymoshenko's return would herald instability.
"We all remember full well how it was when you were in office last time and how it all ended. Within less than a year, the economy shrunk by nearly 10 percent and prices rose," he told the assembly.
"A new era of trials lies ahead for our country, trials of crises, scandals. Our people can expect no improvement in their lives. I am certain these promises will never be fulfilled."
Tymoshenko fell short by a single vote last week. She blamed the outcome on tampering with the electronic voting system, though officials found no evidence.
The outcome of Tuesday's vote, conducted by roll call with deputies stating their positions publicly, was in doubt until the last minute. One deputy from the president's party, who suffered a stroke, was absent, adding to the tension.
During her first term in office, she quarreled with the president over calls for a sweeping review of privatizations which spooked investors.
Yushchenko eventually sacked her after her government split into two factions, each accusing the other of corruption.
Relations with Moscow also worsened as she accused Russian firms of trying to cheat Ukraine, but she has in recent months repeatedly called for good ties with the Kremlin.
(Writing by Ron Popeski; editing by Keith Weir)
