You're reading: Parliament coalition declares unity, re-appoints Yatsenyuk as prime minister in its first session

The first session of the newly-elected parliament passed in a mood of joy and unity. The smiles and friendly handshakes were seen all over the Verkhovna Rada on Nov. 27.

The lawmakers, including some soldiers, former journalists and civic activists, cheered each other and remembered the events of Euromaidan Revolution that started a year ago and led to the ousting of President Viktor Yanukovych and his top aides on Feb. 22

Five parties formed the coalition, with 302 seats out of 423 filled seats in parliament. The coalition includes: President Petro Poroshenko’s bloc, Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovy’s Samopomich party, ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s Batkivshchyna party, the Radical Party of Oleh Lyashko and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk’s party.

The lawmakers also almost unanimously supported Volodymyr Groysman, vice prime minister and minister of regional development, as speaker of parliament with 359 votes and Yatsenyuk to remain as prime minister with 341 votes.

“The fact that the parliament has chosen both prime minister and the speaker shows that the first ever pro-European and constitutional majority which can make decisions is created,” Groysman said. “It’s important for the parliament to be not just gathering of lawmakers but it has to become the driving force for reforms. We don’t have the opportunity to wait, we have many challenges in economic and political sphere. We have to be united to react quickly to these challenges.”

Poroshenko who was present at the session also welcomed creation of the coalition and asked the parliament to move forward with the changes to legislation. ”There is a clear action plan and coalition agreement. We have chance for its execution,” he said. “Let’s start working so that in five years we are ready to apply for membership in the European Union.”

Poroshenko also said that he and Yatsenyuk  “have perfectly learned the lessons of history,” referring to 2005, when the feud between then-President Viktor Yushchenko and then-Prime Minister Tymoshenko led to bitter arguments, gridlock and collapse. “It will be our joint responsibility,” Yatsenyuk said of the coalition.

Igor Lutsenko, a EuroMaidan Revolution activist elected to the parliament from Batkivshchyna, said the Nov. 27 meeting resembled the first school bell. “It all looks like some fantastic union,” Lutsenko said. “The lawmakers at last managed to reach some agreement or someone made them reach it.”

Kyiv Post staff writers Oksana Grytsenko and Anastasia Forina can be reached at [email protected] and [email protected] respectively.