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Confidence in tymoshenko reaffirmed
11 July 2008 Filed in: key stories
Sources: BYuT and Reuters
Ukraine's Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko comfortably overcame a no-confidence vote on Friday called by opposition Party of Regions led by former Prime minister Victor Yanukovich.
Analysts said the outcome could strengthen the position of Tymoshenko, who returned as premier last year. The motion received only 174 votes, far short of the 226 needed to pass in the 450-member chamber.
Tymoshenko urged parliament to back her government's reforms, including liberalization of the economy and measures to tame inflation which hit an annual 31 percent last month, the highest for about a decade.
Tymoshenko, in power just eight months, said "No government can function if it is on the brink of dismissal. If it has no majority, a new coalition must be formed and new leaders found for the country," she told the chamber.
An admirer of Margaret Thatcher, she likened her position to that of the former British prime minister. "She said 'If I have no support, let's vote on this,' Tymoshenko said. "And she carried out reforms only once she had won a vote of confidence."
Opposition politicians accused her in the debate of wrecking Ukraine's economy, but the vote tally showed that Yanukovich had received virtually no backing from other parties.
"This is a big psychological and moral victory for Tymoshenko," said Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Penta think-tank. "She has parried the first serious attack on her and will now try to extend her influence."
Ukraine's Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko comfortably overcame a no-confidence vote on Friday called by opposition Party of Regions led by former Prime minister Victor Yanukovich.
Analysts said the outcome could strengthen the position of Tymoshenko, who returned as premier last year. The motion received only 174 votes, far short of the 226 needed to pass in the 450-member chamber.
Tymoshenko urged parliament to back her government's reforms, including liberalization of the economy and measures to tame inflation which hit an annual 31 percent last month, the highest for about a decade.
Tymoshenko, in power just eight months, said "No government can function if it is on the brink of dismissal. If it has no majority, a new coalition must be formed and new leaders found for the country," she told the chamber.
An admirer of Margaret Thatcher, she likened her position to that of the former British prime minister. "She said 'If I have no support, let's vote on this,' Tymoshenko said. "And she carried out reforms only once she had won a vote of confidence."
Opposition politicians accused her in the debate of wrecking Ukraine's economy, but the vote tally showed that Yanukovich had received virtually no backing from other parties.
"This is a big psychological and moral victory for Tymoshenko," said Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Penta think-tank. "She has parried the first serious attack on her and will now try to extend her influence."