Corruption: does Ukraine need a new government?
A political dispute has erupted in Ukraine over how to deal with the corruption scandal in the country's energy sector. On Tuesday, the opposition blocked a parliamentary vote on dismissing Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko and Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynychuk, with the leader of the European Solidarity party, ex-president Petro Poroshenko, insisting that the entire government resign.
The opposition belongs at the table
Mykola Kniazhytskyi, member of parliament for the party European Solidarity, calls for a government of national unity in a Facebook post republished by Espreso:
“For six years, the government has been formed behind closed doors - in some office on Bankova Street [where the Office of the President of Ukraine is located]. ... All it takes to become the head of an entire sector of the Ukrainian economy is to be liked by the president or one of his friends, while the parliament and civil society are completely excluded from this process. ... The formation of a government that includes representatives of various political forces that normally compete with each other would be a necessary sign of the country's unity in the face of external threats and internal crises.”
Don't add fuel to the fire
Replacing the entire cabinet in the middle of a war would be highly detrimental, journalist Yuriy Bogdanov writes on Facebook:
“Demanding the resignation of Yulia Svyrydenko's government (read: Zelensky's government) means nothing less than openly escalating the crisis. It's like trying to put out a fire by pouring fuel on it. The affair involving [Zelensky's friend and the alleged mastermind in the scandal] Mindich and his cohorts is disgusting, toxic and absolutely unacceptable. But dismissing a government which was only formed in July and whose ministers are, for the most part, perfectly reasonable is nonsense. Especially in the middle of the budget process and with negotiations ongoing at various levels. The most that can be expected regarding the government right now is certain decisions about individual members of staff.”
Staff shortages in the cabinet
It won't be easy to find suitable candidates for the top government posts that are now becoming vacant, Ukrainska Pravda notes:
“Any political scandal is a problem not just for those who have to leave their posts, but also for those who are supposed to take over the vacant positions. In the case of the reboot of the energy sector, this involves replacing almost the entire management level of the industry - including the energy minister. The traditional personnel shortage that has plagued the government in recent years is compounded in this case by the scale of the scandal. Most suitable candidates are horrified at the prospect of joining the government or Energoatom and finding themselves at the centre of the Midas scandal.”