The ministers of the Sbovoda party and Maidan may be stripped of their posts in the government

Photo: Ukrainian photo

Two weeks from now the government and the coalition intend to agree to the reformatting of the Cabinet of Ministers. According to information that Capital possesses, the dismissal of members of the government appointed by the quotas of the Maidan and the Svoboda party is currently under discussion. Successful staff rotation may put off the early parliamentary elections.

Not fit for reform

At the end of last week Premier Arseniy Yatsenyuk announced the beginning of consultations with the coalition in the Verkhovna Rada on reformatting the Cabinet of Ministers. Head of the Svoboda faction Oleh Tyahnybok told journalists that “this is about the replacement of 6-7 candidates in the government that was voiced by the premier at the meeting of the coalition”.
Such statements were the result of the meeting of the coalition and Yatsenyuk with the participation of President Petro Poroshenko on Thursday on the eve of the voting of the parliament for the bills drafted by the government on the anti-crisis measures in the fuel and energy sector.

Parliament members informed about the talks told Capital that the premier said he would step down if the coalition fails to support his vision of a new composite of the government.

Vice Chairman of the Batkivshchyna faction Dmytro Shlemko assured Capital that there is so far the candidates that will be replaced in the government or appointed to vacant posts in the central executive bodies of power have not been agreed to. “Yatsenyuk will do it over the next two weeks,” said Shlemko. He specified that at the meeting with the coalition the premier criticized the results of the work of ministers appointed by the Maidan quota – Healthcare Minister Oleh Musiy and Minister of Economic Development and Trade Pavlo Sheremeta. Yatsenyuk said they are incapable of “organizing reform in their sectors”.

At the same time, a member of the Batkivshchyna party, who requested anonymity, heard in the address of Yatsenyuk that “the quota principle will not be observed in the change in the make-up of the government and that the coalition must agree to his selection of candidates for vacant posts in the executive bodies. Otherwise, he is prepared to tender his resignation”.

The premier said Minister of Finance Oleksandr Shlapak, who is considered to be oriented towards Yatsenyuk, is in the risk group as well as a number of ministers appointed by Svoboda quota, primarily Minister of Agrarian Policy Ihor Shvaika.

However, members of Svoboda feel that such a scenario is highly unlikely. “I believe Shvaika will retain his post. There are reproaches on the part of certain structures, but what ministers today do not get their share of criticism?” MP Mykhailo Blavatskiy of the Svoboda party told Capital.

The UDAR faction, which refused from delegating its representatives in the government of Yatsenyuk at the end of April, is in this case plans to participate in distribution of positions. Moreover, head of the faction and former head of Poroshenko’s election headquarters Vitaliy Kovalchuk supports the refusal from the quota principle. “The issue of reformatting was raised because the quota principle did not justify itself,” Kovalchuk told journalists on Friday. As a reminder, after Vitaliy Yarema was appointed the Prosecutor General the post of the vice premier remains vacant.

According to information that Captial possesses, UDAR has already been granted the post of chairman of the Anti-monopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU). President of the Bohdan Corporation Oleh Svynarchuk, the trustee of President Petro Poroshenko during the presidential elections, will be nominated for the position of the committee’s chairman.

Election litmus test

Members of the Batkivshchnya party believe the possible replacement of ministers from the Svoboda party will have an impact on the voting in the parliament, which will put forth the issue of the reformatting of the coalition. “In order to ensure a steady majority support is required from those factions that were formed not long ago and independent deputies whose numbers have increased,” Shlemko believes.

MP Oleh Kanivets (independent) also predicts that Tyahnybok’s faction may abandon the coalition in the event that its representation in the executive body of power is reduced.

“The elections will be the bone of contention in the work of the coalition. The Svoboda party is interested in being the opposition up to the elections as this position will reinforce the support of the electorate,” Kanivets told Capital.

MP Yuriy Derevyanko (independent) noted that in the event of unsuccessful talks regarding staff changes the chances that the elections are geared towards will sharply rise. “If a compromise regarding staff issues is not found the possibility that the number of those interested in re-elections will considerably increase. And this will not be a matter of who does not agree to staffing issues. Instead, the focus will be shifted to earlier obligations of holding elections and conditions will be set to suspend the activity of the coalition and the sacking of the parliament by the president,” Derevyanko prognosticated for Capital.

Noteworthy, earlier Poroshenko in a meeting with MPs stated the need for holding parliamentary elections at the end of October, while the alternative date currently being discussed in the parliament is the spring of 2015.