‘Orange’ leader named Ukraine PM
Yulia Tymoshenko to face confirmation vote in parliament within five days.
Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Penta political research centre, said that her chances of confirmation were “really not bad, but not certain”.
Political standoff
September’s elections were called by the president in an attempt to resolve months of conflict with Viktor Yanukovych, the pro-Russian prime minister.
At the heart of a standoff between the two leaders was the question of whether Ukraine should pursue membership of the Nato military alliance.
However, relations have also been difficult between Yushchenko and Tymoshenko.
The two stood shoulder-to-shoulder during the peaceful protests known as the Orange Revolution that brought Yushchenko to power in 2005 after a standoff over a rigged election initially given to Yanukovych.
But, after she was appointed prime minister by the new president, their relationship quickly deteriorated and Yushchenko sacked her in September of the same year.
They reconciled in the run-up to the parliamentary election.