Parliament Divvies Up Committees.

Last night parliament divvied up its 27 standing committees, giving six chairmanships each to Our Ukraine and the Tymoshenko bloc. The powerful committees went to: Budget: Nikolai Azarov, Regions; Transport and Communications: Anton Prihodsky, Regions (former manager of some of Rinat Akhmetov’s transport and telecoms companies); Industry & Enterprise: Serhy Matvienkov, Socialists (ally of Mariupol Illicha owner Volodymyr Boiko); National Security and Defense: Anatoly Kinakh, Our Ukraine; Finance and Banking: Petro Poroshenko, Our Ukraine; Fuel and Energy: Mykola Martynenko, Our Ukraine; Economic Policy: Volodymyr Zaplatinsky, recent Our Ukraine defector; Privatization: Andry Kozhemyakin, Tymoshenko bloc; Agriculture: Mykhailo Glady, Tymoshenko bloc; Construction: Yury Serbin, Tymoshenko bloc. Tom Warner: Prihodsky’s appointment makes it clear that Akhmetov has serious intentions toward Ukrtelecom (UTEL: BUY). There could be a reshuffle of committees after the cabinet is appointed.