Ukraine's new parliament approved Mykola Azarov as the new prime minister, taking a second term as head of the government since the election of Viktor Yanukovych as president in 2010.
Azarov’s candidacy
was approved by 210 Party of Regions members, 32 Communists and 12
independents — for a total of 254 votes, a clear and convincing majority in the 450-seat body. No opposition members of parliament voted for his candidacy.
Born in Kaluga,
Russia, 64-year-old Azarov is the longest serving prime minister of
Ukraine, having served for 2 years and 8 months.
In his speech in
parliament prior to his appointment Azarov tried to appease the
opposition, saying they need to sit down at a round table to discuss
the key issues for the nation, including cooperation with the
International Monetary Fund, and the signing of Association Agreement
with Europe.
“The country needs
a capable parliament and government, confrontation is a way that
leads nowhere. We need to apply an effort to meet external challenges
together,” Azarov said.
Speaking about
priorities for his future government, he named economic freedoms,
increasing energy independence, development of competition,
protection of property rights, fairness of justice system, creating
jobs and development of infrastructure, agriculture and replacing
imports with domestic production.
Azarov will now proceed to
appoint the other 17 members of his Cabinet after consulting the
president. Many of the key members of his previous Cabinet are
expected to retain their jobs.
Azarov was elected to
parliament on the Party of Regions ticket, the the president accepted
his resignation earlier this month, only to nominate him again less
than a week later. The vote on Azarov, and election of Party of
Regions’ Volodymyr Ryban as speaker earlier on the same day indicated
that pro-presidential political forces retained a majority in
parliament, which was elected on Oct. 28.
As prime minister, Azarov
has a lot of work to do next year. Ukraine’s economy is declining,
the budget gap is widening and the nation has to pay a record $10
billion to foreign lenders next year, including he IMF. Azarov will
now lead negotiations with the IMF at the end of January, when the
mission is due to arrive to Ukraine.
In his address to parliament, Azarov also hinted that he will be looking east for cooperation, too. He said Ukraine will do its utmost to come closer to the Customs Union, an organization created by Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
“We will do everything so that Ukraine has harmonious relations with the countries of the Customs Union – not just in the economic, but in humanitarian, scientific and social spheres,” he said.
