‘Gas Princess’ handed Ukraine's cabinet chair

Ukraine's Parliament has approved Yulia Timoshenko as the country's new Prime Minister. This follows the third attempt by the Orange Coalition to vote in their nominee. Timoshenko will now replace Viktor Yanukovich who's been officially sacked by the Parl

Last week Yulia Timoshekno fell one vote short and accused her opponents of foul play. She claimed there'd been tampering with the electronic voting equipment.

This time members of the Orange Coalition had to express their support one after another – 226 people in total. It was a flashback to school days: you hear your name, raise your hand and speak out.

In March this year Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko dissolved Parliament and ordered early elections. The move, which received the full support of Timoshenko, eventually culminated with her becoming Prime Minister today.

The Ukrainian President was quick to congratulate Timoshenko on being elected the head of the cabinet and asked her not to forget her promises on improving people's lives.

The outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich has moved to the opposition side, promising a comeback in the future.

Yulia Timoshenko previously held the post of Prime Minister in 2005, but was sacked by the country's president Yushchenko for what he said was a poor performance.

Sergey Oznobishchev, a political analyst from the Strategic Assessment Institute, says the re-union of Timoshenko and Yushchenko will not be stable.

“It is almost a standard scenario. We saw the same thing a couple of years ago. I suppose that the new union will not be very stable. Timoshenko will not make a technical Prime Minister because she is a political figure. As for Russia-Ukraine relations I would not like to see them as dependent on this political figure. They should be more stable and dependent on practical deeds and practical programmes of economic, and especially, oil and gas co-operation,” he said.