New governor comes to Lviv. Photo

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Present at the meeting were oblast and city council deputies, heads of law enforcement and tax agencies. The new governor was introduced to the audience by the outgoing Governor Kmit and Lviv oblast council head Senyk.
Addressing the audience, Horbal said, ”There hasn’t been any unity within the country’s government and legislature. Now we have a unique chance when Rada, the cabinet and president work in unison. They take clear decisions favoring no one specifically. I am sure we can have a similar constructive environment in the Lviv oblast.”  
 “I hope to find a common language with the Orange Lviv oblast council, with all the factions forming it. We will work sincerely and openly,” the new governor added.
The outgoing Governor Kmit thanked his colleagues for cooperation and wished success to Vasyl Horbal. Kmit was given a citation by the Lviv oblast council for dedicated work for the good of the Lviv oblast. The audience gave him a standing ovation. 
Myroslav Senyk warned Horbal that Lviv is a specific area of Ukraine, saying  “You will be closely watched, your actions will be evaluated by the Lviv oblast community. They expect you to put the region at peace.”

Speaking about controversial Education Minister Tabachnyk, Horbal said he is convinced Tabachnyk will try to improve his image with Lviv residents.
Horbal hinted that Tabachnyk’s declarations humiliating Western Ukrainians were part of campaigning and won’t impact his performance as education minister.
I asked Tabachnyk (who is Horbal’s close buddy – Ed.) to improve his image which Lviv residents so dislike. Despite our close relationship, I do not understand many of Tabachnyk’s declarations made during political campaigning,” Horbal admitted.
Meanwhile, Volodymyr Podhornov of the Ukrainian Thought think tank claims that Horbal’s sole problem in the Lviv oblast will be a large number of crossovers willing to jump on his bandwagon. Defectors are unreliable people: once they betray someone they will tend to betray more, the expert warns.

Horbal, who hails from the Lviv region, won’t resort to extremities, Podhornov says. Yet, there is a probability that Horbal may have his fingers burnt in Lviv.
The expert says the Lviv officials are bogged down in property grabs. Faced with the new governor’s declared intention to put the lid on corruption, Lviv power brokers are eager to demonstrate their readiness to play hardball with the new governor. Hence, warnings of impeachment, pickets, escalations of street protests against Tabachnyk, Horbal’s close friend. All this is a demonstration of force to make the new governor more cooperative, the expert claims.