A coalition of two parties linked to Ukraine's pro-Western "orange revolution" proposed Yulia Tymoshenko yesterday as their candidate to be restored in her old job as prime minister.
Members of parliament representing Our Ukraine, the party of President Viktor Yushchenko, and Tymoshenko's bloc unanimously approved the proposal in a room inside the parliament building.
The coalition will now submit Tymoshenko's nomination to the president, who has 15 days to consider it and send it to the 450-seat parliament for approval.
"If my candidature is not supported, we will work in the opposition," Tymoshenko told reporters afterwards, a position she has held since the September election.
The coalition also unanimously nominated Foreign Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk as speaker of parliament. The chamber was expected to consider nominations for the post later in the day.
The two "orange" groups control 227 seats in parliament - just a single vote more than required to win most votes in the chamber.
Commentators have questioned the viability of the slender "orange" majority. There are persistent suggestions that some of the president's supporters, and perhaps Yushchenko himself, are unhappy at the prospect of Tymoshenko returning to office.
If Yatsenyuk, a compromise candidate, wins the powerful speaker's job, Tymoshenko stands a better chance of becoming prime minister. Alternative candidates might be less favorable to the formation of an "orange" Cabinet.
The president's rival, caretaker Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich, favors a "broad coalition" of his own supporters and members of Our Ukraine.
Tymoshenko rejects any notion of such a coalition, and though reserved in her comments since the coalition was created, said on Monday she was ready to go into opposition if no "orange" government could be formed.
"There can be either a democratic coalition or none at all, a power vacuum," news agencies quoted her as telling activists. But she added: "I do not want anyone to view it as a tragedy if, because of a few traitors, we find ourselves in opposition."
Yushchenko rose to power in the aftermath of mass protests against electoral fraud in 2004 and pledged to move Ukraine closer to the West and join the European Union and NATO.
But splits developed in "orange" ranks and the president sacked Tymoshenko as prime minister months later. The two leaders were reconciled during the September campaign.
Source: China Daily/Agencies
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