Three ministers out: big cleaning on the eve of second anniversary in power

UKRAINE - In Brief 19 May 2021 by Dmytro Boyarchuk
Yesterday, on May 18th, Verkhovna Rada dismissed three ministers: Minister of Infrastructure, Vladyslav Krykliy; Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture Igor Petrashko; and Minister of Healthcare, Maxym Stepanov. This reshuffle is merely the result of infighting between interest groups that is being presented as a big renewal of the Cabinet on the eve of the second anniversary of Volodymyr Zelenskiy in the presidential seat. The Minister of Healthcare, Maxym Stepanov, became much too toxic after regular scandals amid incredibly slow vaccination. However, his replacement will be Victor Liashko, currently Chief Sanitary Doctor and effectively a person from the same team. The "crimes" of Minister of Infrastructure Vladyslav Krykliy and Minister of Economy Igor Petrashko are not clear. Krykliy will be replaced by Oleksandr Kurbakov, currently the head of the State Agency of Motor Roads of Ukraine (the agency that took care of Big Construction – a beloved project of Volodymyr Zelenskiy). Petrashko will be replaced by Oleksiy Liubchenko, currently Head of the State Fiscal Service, who gained credit at the President's Office on the back of strong inflationary budget collections. I do not expect any changes in policy from the reshuffle. However, many observers are very positive both about Oleksandr Kurbakov and Oleksiy Liubchenko. I’m skeptical because none is allowed to run independent policy but, instead, should service the wishlist of Zelenskiy, who has a huge appetite for fast, easy and spectacular solutions, to stay afloat. Against this backdrop it’s difficult to expect real progress on the complicated but systemic tasks the IMF demands.

Now read on...

Register to sample a report

Register
Sign-in
Forgot your password?
Copyright 2024 GlobalSource Partners. All rights reserved. This is prepared for GlobalSource Partners’ clients and may not be redistributed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, retransmitted or disclosed, in whole or in part, or in any form or manner, without the express written consent of GlobalSource Partners. This is distributed simultaneously to our website and other portals used by GlobalSource Partners. The information herein was obtained from various sources and is believed to be reliable but GlobalSource Partners does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. Neither GlobalSource Partners nor any Country Analyst, officer or employee accepts any liability whatsoever for any direct, indirect or consequential damages or losses rising from any use of this or its contents.