KIEV, Ukraine — Ukraine's new acting prime minister returned to his eastern region Saturday, promising to boost the flagging economy while the nation waited to hear what changes to expect from the new team chosen to replace the shattered Orange Revolution coalition.
Acting Prime Minister Yuri Yekhanurov, who was participating in local celebrations in Dnipropetrovsk, said his main goal was to bolster the economy, which has slowed after years of growth.
"For me the most important thing is for people to feel the results of the government's work so that their life becomes better," Yekhanurov was quoted as saying by the private Unian news agency.
His predecessor, Yulia Tymoshenko, signaled Friday that she was moving to the opposition after President Viktor Yushchenko dismissed her government. Yushchenko tapped Yekhanurov, the governor of Dnipropetrovsk, to replace the charismatic Tymoshenko and begin putting together a new government.
Yekhanurov reportedly said he would take a softer approach toward business, compared with Tymoshenko, whose heavy-handed approach often rattled the investment community.
Yekhanurov also has said he places importance on good relations with Ukraine's powerful neighbor, Russia, where he was born. Under Tymoshenko, relations between Moscow and Kiev were chilly, and she is wanted in Russia on corruption charges that she calls politically motivated.
Yekhanurov pledged that his government would continue to fulfill promises that Yushchenko laid out during last year's Orange Revolution but said he would be picking his new Cabinet based on professionalism and not party politics.
Many former Cabinet members, all of whom were dismissed with the firing, have said they hoped to stay on.
Yushchenko already has told Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko that he wants him to remain, Lutsenko spokeswoman Inna Kisel said.
The Ukrainian daily newspaper Segodnya said Yekhanurov also was expected to tap several former government members who served under Yushchenko's predecessor — former President Leonid Kuchma. The newspaper is owned by Ukraine's wealthiest man, Rinat Akhmetov, who openly feuded with Yushchenko's government.
Topping the new government's agenda is the 2006 budget, which must be sent to parliament by Thursday. Tymoshenko had adopted a populist tactic, raising pensions and state salaries. But the economy's growth has slowed and inflation returned.
During a television interview Friday, Tymoshenko said she would focus her attention on leading a separate political force — a move that is a huge setback for Yushchenko six months before key parliamentary elections.
The March elections are seen as key to cementing the democratic gains of the Orange Revolution mass protests. After the elections, a change in the law also means that parliament will yield far greater power, including the right to choose the prime minister, as well as other key ministerial jobs, making the vote a critical test for Yushchenko.