Ukraine confirms prime minister
Could pave way for role in EU
KIEV -- Parliament confirmed Yulia Tymoshenko as Ukraine's new prime minister yesterday and gave the firebrand of the country's ''Orange Revolution" protests the go-ahead to set the former Soviet republic on a new, westward course.
In unanimous votes, Tymoshenko won confirmation as premier and won support for her government's program aimed at fighting poverty, tackling corruption, and preparing Ukraine for European Union membership.
''We have passed through a long election path," said Tymoshenko, whose penchant for provocative statements has won her countless supporters and enemies. ''We have awakened the hopes of people that the government can work and provide results. . . . I want to thank the president, the parliament, and the people for honoring me with the task."
She was confirmed as premier in a 373-to-0 vote, far more than the 226 votes needed in the 450-seat parliament. Tymoshenko smiled broadly, then immediately walked over and hugged her ally, President Viktor Yushchenko.
''People are waiting for a new government that will be honest and will resolve all the problems they have lived with for 14 years," said Yushchenko, who came to the parliament chambers to give his support to Tymoshenko, calling her his ''political partner, political friend."
Tymoshenko, 44, was one of the most visible figures in the mass protests led by tens of thousands of people for weeks during Ukraine's elections crisis in November and December. The protests, dubbed the ''Orange Revolution" after Yushchenko's campaign color, helped secure his victory over former prime minister Viktor Yanukovych in a repeat presidential election on Dec. 26.
Tymoshenko also announced positions in her Cabinet, which was formed 24 hours later than expected because of haggling among the diverse allies who helped Yushchenko.
The new opposition criticized the last-minute dealmaking, but Yushchenko's supporters were in high spirits after holding together their loose coalition of nationalists, Socialists, and reformers.
''This is the demonstration of a new style of work . . . a new efficiency," said Petro Poroshenko, a key Yushchenko ally and lawmaker, who earlier was tipped as a candidate for prime minister.
Before the vote, Tymoshenko laid out the broad goals of her program, called ''Toward the People." She said the program would raise living standards and end the corruption, bribery, and bureaucracy that choked business development and caused millions to lose faith in the government. 