Ukraine’s parliament voted with a clear majority on Tuesday to accept Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko’s resignation. The vote dismissed the entire government, one that had held office for less than a year, according to DW.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had signaled the change two days earlier. On Sunday he wrote on Telegram that he had offered Svyrydenko a new post. “I am grateful to Yulia for her clear, steady and effective work as prime minister,” he said, adding that she had been offered “a new significant role in relations with an important partner.” Media reports say she could become Ukraine’s next ambassador to the United States.
Zelenskyy also said he expects to make “the necessary changes to the Ukrainian government” together with members of parliament. He posted photos of meetings with Sergii Koretskyi, head of the state-owned energy company Naftogaz, and with first Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal. The others pictured were Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov and Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov.
Why now
Ihor Reiterovych, a political scientist at Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv, told DW that a reshuffle had been planned for the coming fall or spring. Several recent incidents pulled it forward, he said.
The first concerns Washington. Olga Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s current ambassador to the United States, is under investigation by Ukrainian anti-corruption authorities over activities before she took the post. There are rumors she may resign. “It is possible that the Americans signaled that a scandal involving the ambassador would be too much for them,” Reiterovych said. He described Svyrydenko as a good candidate because she worked well with the Americans on the raw materials agreement.
The second is the armed forces. Investigative reporting has uncovered torture, cruel treatment of recruits and the cover-up of deaths away from combat. Inspections are also examining conscription and the draft, after many mobilized men turned out to be medically unfit. A reshuffle could draw attention away from those problems, Reiterovych said. He added that communications trouble with the Cabinet, Fedorov included, may be a factor, and that dismissing the whole government would let Zelenskyy remove people he could not easily fire for image reasons.
A power play?
Critics read it differently. Vadym Denysenko, of the analytical unit at the news portal DSNews, said Svyrydenko came from the circle of Andriy Yermak, the former head of the president’s office, who required obedience in government. With Yermak gone, he said, she was no longer needed as an executor of policy, though she stayed loyal to Zelenskyy.
Political scientist Oleksiy Haran linked the move to Yermak’s resignation and said the president’s office wants tighter control of the executive branch. “Zelenskyy is once again showing who is in charge, contrary to the constitution,” Haran said, noting that forming a government is parliament’s prerogative. He named energy problems as another possible reason, since Koretskyi and Shmyhal are both energy specialists and are among the candidates for prime minister. Observers think Koretskyi is a favorite. “I don’t think that is the main reason,” Haran said, “but it is an important factor.”
The next prime minister
Volodymyr Fesenko, of the Penta Center for Applied Political Research, said Zelenskyy often bundles personnel decisions into a larger package, as he did last year. Changes at law enforcement agencies are also planned, he said.
Reiterovych said loyalty is Zelenskyy’s main criterion. The observers DW spoke to largely expect parliament to vote for whoever the president puts forward. “The aim is to put parliament in its place once again,” Reiterovych said. Every candidate must still be confirmed by the legislature, so it could assert its independence, in which case the week’s sessions could be eventful.
