Olga Rudenko
Ukraine’s parliament voted on April 14 to appoint Volodymyr Groysman
as the country's new prime minister. 257 lawmakers supported his candidacy.
Groysman, who served as the speaker of parliament since November 2014,
replaces Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who spent two years as prime minister.
The vote could end a long-running political crisis that started in the
middle February, when the parliament tried and failed to unseat Yatsenyuk,
prompting a breakdown of the ruling coalition.
Since then, the largest faction in parliament, the pro-presidential Bloc of
Petro Poroshenko, has been trying to form a new coalition. Yatsenyuk agreed to
resign if the bloc could garner enough votes to appoint his successor. He
announced his resignation in a TV address on April 10.
After the former coalition members Samopomich, the Radical Party and Yulia Tymoshenko's Batkivshchyna refused to form a new
majority, Poroshenko Bloc attracted independent lawmakers, grew its numbers and
formed a shaky coalition with the second-biggest faction, Yatsenyuk's People's
Front. Together the two parties have 227 votes - just one vote above the
required minimum for a ruling majority.
Apart from the new majority, Groysman's candidacy was supported by 11
independent lawmakers, all 23 lawmakers of Vidrodzhennya (Renaissance), a group
that is associated with oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky, and 16 lawmakers of Volya
Narodu (People's Will).
The lawmakers held a single vote to dismiss Yatsenyuk, cancel an earlier
decision that declared his work unsatisfactory, and appoint Groysman.
The all-in-one vote was criticised by the representatives of the opposition
parties, who said the double vote was against the standing order of the
Verkhovna Rada.
Groysman’s Cabinet is yet to be appointed, but the leadership of the Bloc
of Petro Poroshenko faction has published the expected line-up of ministers.
Several ministers are expected to retain their seats in the new Cabinet,
including Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, Justice Minister Pavlo Petrenko,
Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak, and Minister
of Sports and Youth Yuri Zhdanov.
Groysman, a 38-year-old former mayor of Vinnitsya, is the youngest-ever
prime minister of Ukraine.
Appointment of Groysman, an ally of President Petro Poroshenko, marks a
shift of power in Ukraine. After two years during which two parties, those of
Poroshenko and Yatsenyuk, had relatively equal representation and influence in
parliament and government, Poroshenko has strengthened his position through the
appointment of a loyal prime minister.
Addressing the parliament before the vote, Poroshenko said that he had to
interfere in the coalition formation because the country was going deeper and
deeper into the political crisis.
"I was forced to take the role of a political moderator to enforce the
decision that you, lawmakers, must approve today," Poroshenko said.
In exchange for supporting Groysman’s candidacy, Yatsenyuk’s parliament
faction the People’s Front was given the chance to appoint one of their
lawmakers as the speaker of parliament. The party also got several ministerial
positions in the new government.
Groysman addressed the parliament before the vote. He named
corruption, ineffective state and populism as three main enemies of Ukraine,
and promised
"I swear to do everything so that neither the people, nor the
president, nor the parliament regret appointing me," said Groysman.
Yatsenyuk showed up in the parliament before the vote on April 14 to
officially ask the lawmakers to dismiss him. After a short address, he quickly
left the hall.
While addressing the parliament to urge it to support Groysman, Poroshenko
warned against lambasting the Cabinet of Yatsenyuk.
"The resignation of the Cabinet is not a reason to throw rocks in
their backs," he said. "Yes, it lost the support of the parliament.
But no Ukrainian government has ever worked in such
harsh conditions as this one."
Nevertheless, the representatives of the oppositional parties,
including the Opposition Bloc, Tymoshenko's Batkivshchyna, and Oleh
Lyashko's Radical Party addressed the parliament with criticism of both Yatsenyuk
and the new Cabinet and coalition.
Yatsenyuk was defended by his frequent critic, head of Poroshenko Bloc Yuri
Lutsenko, who praised him for "creating a real Ukrainian army" and
ensuring Ukraine's energy independence from
"Yatsenyuk earned his applause today, just like he earned the
criticism before," Lutsenko said.
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