KIEV, Ukraine — New Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych vowed Thursday to create “a European state outside of any bloc,” but the crippling lack of consensus in his government was clear in the half-empty hall during his inaugural address.
His short, unemotional speech showed a determination to save the economy and preserve ties with the West forged by the outgoing leadership. But his more specific pledges have suggested a turn back toward Russia in energy policy and military cooperation, policies that threaten to further polarize the nation.
Yanukovych took the oath of office in the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament, receiving a ceremonial scepter that he raised in triumph over the deputies in attendance.
But members of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s party snubbed the event. Their empty half of the chamber emphasized the kinds of divisions that have paralyzed Ukraine’s government in recent years and continue to do so.
Since his victory in a Feb. 7 runoff vote, Yanukovych’s Party of Regions has struggled to form a new coalition that could pass urgent reforms and oust Tymoshenko, his political nemesis.
This has proven a losing fight so far. Having defeated her by only 3.5 percentage points in the presidential contest, Yanukovych enters office with a shaky mandate. He also inherits an economy crippled by the global financial crisis and a nation whose political loyalties are deeply divided.
But the new president, once considered a Kremlin lackey, promised to carve a unique geopolitical path for Ukraine and pull its economy back from the brink.
