Cabinet options talk is over
Leonid Kuchma signed an edict last Saturday, retiring Anatoly Kinakh’s cabinet, and submitted to the Verkhovna Rada the candidacy of Donetsk Governor Viktor Yanukovych. The edict explains the cabinet’s dismissal by the “need to implement the stated course aimed at reforming the political system in this country, securing for this purpose constructive interrelationship and cooperation with the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to form a responsible and effective government of Ukraine.” In other words, the reason for ousting the cabinet is not because it messed up, but because a change in government is warranted by the political situation. Without doubt, Anatoly Kinakh will try to make the most of this formulation in his subsequent political endeavors. Commenting on his decision, Leonid Kuchma noted the Kinakh cabinet’s merits (e.g., maintaining economic growth) and shortcomings (inability to solve a multitude of social problems and procure enough support at the Verkhovna Rada).
The candidate premier will be put to the vote this Thursday. Will Viktor Yanukovych be the next premier? Will the majority in parliament show enough political will and organization? Will the candidacy be supported by the neutral and opposed people’s deputies? Anyway, the candidate says he is ready to cooperate with all factions and work for the benefit of the state, rather than separate groups. A number of factions (e.g., SPDU {o}, Peasants’ Party, Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, and Labor Ukraine) have unequivocally voiced their support. LU leader Serhiy Tyhypko declared he was not going to work for the government, but did not deny the possibility of his appointment, in the same “package” with Yanukovych, as head of the National Bank. Quite a few factions (including NDP, Power of the People, Our Ukraine, and CPU) announced that they would make the final decision after meeting with the candidate. Obviously they are all convinced that Viktor Yanukovych will pass muster. Hence the cautious stand taken by his opponents. Nor should one rule out the possibility of remaking the scenario with Sviatoslav Piskun as General Prosecutor, under certain circumstances, considering the record number of votes (well above 300) he received from various forces in parliament.
Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn believes that Viktor Yanukovych will be the next premier with 245-250 ayes, adding that the debate on his candidacy will be tough, “because the point at issue is Ukraine’s immediate future.”
Vice Speaker Oleksandr Zinchenko told journalists that voting on Yanukovych will be the first point on the agenda Thursday. That same day parliament intends to hear the budget bill in the second reading, meaning that the resolution on the first issue will have its impact on the second one, Mr. Zinchenko surmised. He reminded that, under the constitution, the retired cabinet may continue functioning for another two months, although no one intends to let the matter be drawn out that long, he said. The vice speaker stressed that, in forming the new cabinet, the emphasis should be put on the coalition principle, as well as on the professional level of every cabinet member. Mr. Zinchenko informed that the SPDU(o) faction claims posts in the new government, but that these claims are sure to rely on the two above-mentioned principles.
Information to date indicates that Viktor Yanukovych stands a fair chance as the next premier. At the same time, there is no guarantee that the new government will be effectively supported by the majority in parliament. Their number remains the same: 229-230 people’s deputies, said Mr. Zinchenko, are obviously not enough to make effective decisions in view of the minority’s active resistance. In addition, the majority will be tested by the allocation of cabinet portfolios and those of the committees. The latter, according to Stepan Havrysh, leader of the faction Democratic Initiatives, are blocked and it is a problem still to be solved.
