MOSCOW. Sept 12 (Interfax) - Liberal Democratic leader and State Duma Deputy Speaker Vladimir Zhirinovsky expressed confidence that Wednesday's nomination of Viktor Zubkov as prime minister would be approved by the Duma on Friday.

"Between 360 and 400 votes may be cast for him," Zhirinovsky told reporters.

He called Zubkov an "unblemished figure."

It is extremely important, the Liberal Democratic leader argued, that Zubkov, who heads the Federal Financial Monitoring Service, is in effect the country's "chief financial auditor" because, as prime minister, he will be in control of large funds.

Furthermore, Zubkov is a man from President Vladimir Putin's team and "this is the proper choice to make," Zhirinovsky said.

The Liberal Democratic leader also forecast that the next government would be very different in composition from the one that stepped down on Wednesday, and that Mikhail Zurabov, German Gref, Andrei Fursenko, Yury Trutnev and Igor Levitin were among those who would have to part with their portfolios.

Zurabov was health and social development minister, Gref economic development and trade minister, Fursenko education and science minister, Trutnev natural resources minister, and Levitin transportation minister in the previous government.

Zhirinovsky said there was a surprise element about Zubkov's nomination because others had been thought to be tapped for the position. Likely candidates had been First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov and Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Naryshkin

There might be the same surprise element about the Kremlin's nomination for president, according to Zhirinovsky. "The candidate may again be unexpected - most likely he won't be from St. Petersburg or from the siloviki (military and security officials), but will also come from the presidential team," the deputy speaker said.

Today the future candidate is one of the lowest-profile figures, according to Zhirinovsky.

Union of Right Forces (SPS) party leader Nikita Belykh said Zubkov's nomination did not mean that a theory that whoever succeeds Mikhail Fradkov as prime minister will be the Kremlin's likeliest candidate for president had come off the agenda.

"Our president has already demonstrated that he is capable of surprises when it comes to appointments," Belykh told Interfax.

It does not matter that Zubkov is not well known because his profile can be boosted splendidly in three or four months," the SPS leader said.

Grigory Yavlinsky, leader of Yabloko, another liberal party, argued that Zubkov's nomination was a sign that Putin will retain de facto power after his term of office expires in 2008.

Zubkov's nomination "means that there exists only one source of power in the country - the president," Yavlinsky said in a statement.

"This appointment is a step toward Vladimir Putin remaining in power after his formal term of office comes to an end," Yavlinsky said.