Poroshenko introduced to Europe the main contender for the seat of the next premier of Ukraine

Photo: Konstantin Melnitskiy

The two-day visit of Vice Premier and Minister of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Municipal Services Volodymyr Groysman to Brussels ended yesterday. Kyiv said the official purpose of the trip was preparation for the donor conference on the reconstruction of the Donbas region. Unofficially, this visit was interpreted as a presentation of a new premier.

Visit with many unknowns

During his visit to Brussels Groysman and Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin met with high-ranking representatives of the EU and the European Commission, including EU Commissioner for Regional Policy Johannes Hahn, as well as experts from the bloc responsible for preparation of the donor conference on reconstruction of the Donbas region. “Groysman was talkative during the meetings, but said nothing specific,” said a member of the Ukrainian delegation. MP Andriy Pavlovskiy (Batkivshchyna) refers to the vice premier’s visit as a “presentation of the new head of the government to foreign partners”, since “it all fits in the context of the fact that after the elections Poroshenko sees him in office as the new premier”.

“Hence, the foreign trips with Klimkin. Groysman is the president’s man, Poroshenko trusts him completely and is making his best efforts to promote him,” said Pavlovskiy. He added that the 4^th place in the Petro Poroshenko Bloc (PPB) electoral list also speaks in favor of the former mayor of Vinnytsya.

“This is the first demonstration of the possible future of Groysman as premier of Ukraine in Europe. He was given an opportunity to make contacts with the leaders of the European Union,” political analyst Vadym Karasyov says.

Yet, representatives of the PPB claim that it is too early to talk about a new premier before the elections to the Verkhovna Rada. “Someone wants to interpret Groysman’s visit to Brussels as a view of the future premier of Ukraine. But it is just a working visit of the vice premier in the current government,” said MP Pavlo Rozenko (UDAR), who is a member of the PPB campaign headquarters. Rozenko reminded that according to the Constitution the new coalition will nominate the head of government.

That said, our source in the Presidential Administration (PA) said that talks about the possibility of the appointment of a new premier are justified. “Everyone remembers Arseniy Yatsenyuk’s appeals to the president to form a coalition before the elections. Those were attempts to solve the problem with the premiership today. But the president is in no hurry to make promises. All will depend on the results of the elections,” he said. Representatives of the PPB do not rule out the possibility of creation of their own majority in the parliament, added the source.

Yatsenyuk passes the buck to the IMF

Capital’s source in the Presidential Administration argues that in discussing the issue of premiership with the president Yatsenyuk repeatedly mentioned the ability to negotiate on loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as an argument in his favor. Representatives of the People’s Front believe that such ability should play in favor of the current head of the Cabinet after the elections. “Yatsenyuk is an experienced economist with a good knowledge of languages. His government is doing a great job in order for Ukraine to receive financial aid in due time. And personal contacts play an essential role in such matters,” assured MP Mykola Knyazhytskiy (Batlivshchyna), who is running for a seat in parliament on behalf of the People’s Front.

Our source in the government said Yatsenyuk had the support of the U.S. In particular, the visit of Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs at the U.S. Department of State Victoria Nuland, who met Poroshenko and Yatsenyuk in Kyiv, was associated with this. However, the significance of the current head of the Cabinet is not overrated in the president’s team.

“To say that the West gives money only for Yatsenyuk would be a bluff. For example, the IMF worked with Mykola Azarov, so why would not it cooperate with another premier? Moreover, the new head of government will have Poroshenko’s support and the latter will be able to convince any investor to work with Ukraine and with this premier,” the source in the PA said.

Nevertheless, political analyst Taras Berezovets believes that the nomination of Groysman for the post of the head of government may elicit the dissatisfaction of certain MPs in the president's entourage. “Everything will be decided after the elections. And it is far from certain that the vice premier will be supported unanimously in Poroshenko’s party. Many consider him to be too immature and poorly prepared to serve as the head of the Cabinet,” said Berezovets.

A member of parliament representing the UDAR faction, on condition of anonymity, assured that the parliamentarians will accept the candidate proposed by the president. “So far, Poroshenko has not made any suggestions regarding the new premier and said other candidates have not been discussed. However, if the name Groysman comes up, there will be no problems. He performed well as a mayor and in his current position,” the source affirmed.