Kiev  - Ukraine's long-running political crisis took a step towards resolution on Tuesday as the previously warring parliament factions elected a compromise candidate to lead the legislature.

A total of 244 members of the 450-seat parliament supported Volodymyr Litvin, head of the tiny Litvin Block Party, as parliament's new speaker, the Interfax news agency reported.

Two pro-Europe parties, the populist Block of Yulia Tymoshenko (BYut) and Our Ukraine People's Union (OUPU), voted in favour of Litvin's candidacy.

The OUPU is headed by President Viktor Yushchenko. He has not yet commented on the new coalition.

Representatives from Ukraine's two pro-Russia parties, the pro-big business Regions of Ukraine Party (RUP) and the Communist Party of Ukraine (CPU), abstained from voting.

Litvin's election marked a step toward an end of three months of stagnation in Ukraine's legislature and general chaos in government.

The Ukrainian parliament's last ruling coalition collapsed in early September over power-sharing between parliament and the executive branch, and what position Ukraine should take towards the recent Russo-Georgian War.

Litvin in remarks to the parliament said his election marked the official formation of a new ruling coalition including the three parties that voted him the speakership: his own party, BYuT, and OUPU.

An OUPU spokesman was quick to moderate Litvin's remarks. Parliamentarian Andry Paruby claimed his party's leadership had signed the three-party coalition without consulting party rank and file.

The new coalition, if functional, would be almost identical to the one that failed in September. The main difference would be the inclusion of Litvin's kingmaker party in the new majority.

Litvin was a leading figure calling for compromise between Ukraine's pro-Europe and pro-Russia political factions during the former Soviet republic's 2004-5 Orange Revolution.

A former Communist Party official, Litvin in recent years has criticized Ukraine's government and President Viktor Yushchenko as overly pro-NATO. He has also called for a pragmatic Ukrainian foreign policy complemented with a fight against widespread government corruption.

Western observers have criticised Litvin as non-free market for his continued support of state-owned corporations and his rejection of land reform.

The new coalition faces crises on several domestic fronts, topped by rocketing inflation, falling government tax receipts, rising unemployment, a rapidly depreciating currency, and industrial depression.

Ukraine in late October received a 16.5-billion-dollar loan to prevent a collapse of its banking section. The loan's conditions include reforms considered politically impossible in Ukraine, including sacking excess staff in state-owned firms and introducing transparency and responsible management into the country's murky energy industry.

A working majority in parliament would not necessarily enable Ukraine's government to take action, as President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Tymoshenko, the two executive branch officials most responsible for putting reforms into effect, are bitterly opposed on many issues. (dpa)