Ukraine President's Premier Nominee Struggles to Muster Support
- Parliament speaker nominated ahead of Finance Minister Jaresko
- Lawmakers reconvene next week in Kiev to approve new premier
Ukrainian Parliament Speaker Volodymyr Hroisman, backed by President Petro Poroshenko to head a new government to lead the country out of a political tumult that’s halted the flow of international financial aid, is struggling to assemble a parliamentary majority as parties bicker before a vote on his candidacy next week.
Even lawmakers from Poroshenko’s own party said they haven’t yet decided whether to support Hroisman, as did those from the Radical Party, ex-Premier Yulia Tymoshenko’s Batkivshchyna party and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk’s People’s Front after talks in Kiev on Friday. A parliamentary majority must approve his appointment, with the legislature set to reconvene Tuesday. Yatsenyuk, who must also step aside, said he’d “accept any decision.”