KIEV, March 18 – Pro-government groups on Wednesday failed to agree on candidates to fill a number of key vacancies in the Cabinet, jeopardizing a Parliament vote that had been originally scheduled for Thursday.

Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko seeks to appoint the finance minister and the head of the State Property Fund as quickly as possible, as the two positions are key to tackling Ukraine’s economic and fiscal crises.

Tymoshenko is apparently also seeking to appoint Serhiy Tyhypko as a deputy prime minister to supervise the government’s anti-crisis measures, among other appointments.

Other vacancies in the government include the post of the foreign minister after Volodymyr Ohryzko, a loyalist of President Viktor Yushchenko, was dismissed March 3 by an alliance of Tymoshenko and the opposition Regions Party.

Serhiy Sobolev, a senior member of the Tymoshenko Bloc, said the groups will hold a meeting on Thursday morning – hours before the vote to reshuffle the government – to try to secure the required support.

“We scheduled all decision-making on Thursday morning when final decisions will be approved,” Sobolev said in an interview with Channel 5 late Wednesday.

Tymoshenko, who controls only 213 lawmakers in her coalition, or 13 short of majority in the 450-seat Parliament, has been apparently seeking support from opposition lawmakers.

In line with this strategy, Tymoshenko has been apparently seeking to secure support from some lawmakers representing the 175-strong Regions Party, as well as from about 15 lawmakers loyal to Yushchenko.

In a bid to tap the Regions support, Tymoshenko has been considering appointing Fedir Yaroshenko, a deputy head of the State Tax Administration, as the new finance minister, people familiar with the situation said.

Yaroshenko is thought to be loyal to Mykola Azarov, a senior member of the Regions Party and a former finance minister.

In another option, Tymoshenko lawmakers have been suggesting making all of the appointments by one single vote in Parliament, including approval of Oleh Shamshur, Yushchenko’s nominee, as the new foreign minister. This may secure support from Yushchenko loyalists.

“We cannot do it [separately] when part of lawmakers vote for some appointments, while other lawmakers vote for others. [By doing so] we can in fact fail all of the appointments,” Sobolev said. (tl/ez)