12 March 2010 / AP, KIEV
Ukrainian lawmakers formed a new coalition around new President Viktor Yanukovych, and allowed him to consolidate power by quickly approving his choice for prime minister.
The election of Mykola Azarov as premier -- after he served as Yanukovych’s campaign strategist in this year’s presidential elections -- ends the long-running rivalry between Ukraine’s head of state and head of government. Azarov leads the new majority coalition “Reforms and Order,” which includes Yanukovych’s Party of Regions, the Communists and the party led by parliamentary speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn, formerly allied with the pro-Western “Orange” coalition.Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was ousted March 3 in a no-confidence vote after her Orange coalition fell. She and former President Viktor Yushchenko, who together led the Orange Revolution protests that brought Yushchenko to power in 2004, have said they will remain in opposition against Azarov’s government. Before helping to run Yanukovych’s presidential campaign, Azarov was first deputy prime minister when Yanukovych held the premiership between 2006 and 2007. He is seen as a staunch supporter of both Yanukovych and his Kremlin-friendly policies. On Thursday, he pledged to root out corruption and tackle the economic turmoil that has plagued Ukraine during the political wrangling of the past few years.
