Friz on change of government: Ukraine needs professional ministers, not yet another reshuffle
For the "European Solidarity" parliamentary group, the key factors are the professionalism of the candidates for government posts and a clear action plan for the Cabinet of Ministers.
This is how Iryna Friz, a Member of Parliament for the "European Solidarity" party, commented on the planned government reshuffle to Censor.NET.
"European Solidarity" has set out the criteria for supporting candidates
"European Solidarity" is an opposition parliamentary group. We do not support personnel appointments simply because they are proposed by the government. For us, the decisive factors are the candidate’s professionalism, impeccable reputation, independence, a clear plan of action and a willingness to take personal responsibility before the Ukrainian parliament and society. This is precisely what the state needs today, rather than yet another sham reshuffle," she noted.
Friz criticised the format of the Cabinet reshuffle
According to Friz, the change of government is not so much a reshuffle as a "ship of fools", where passengers are constantly being swapped around, but no one takes responsibility for the course.
"The only difference is that for Ukraine this is not a comedy, but the harsh reality of war, in which the cost of administrative errors is measured in human lives, lost opportunities and time. Unfortunately, public administration continues to be guided not by the principles of professionalism, responsibility and accountability, but by political expediency and, above all, personal loyalty to the president. The opposition has long spoken of the need to overhaul the executive branch, which has failed to establish communication with parliament, has tabled ‘half-baked’ and substandard draft laws, or has even attempted to circumvent existing legislation through dubious experiments via Cabinet of Ministers resolutions. "But Bankova Street stubbornly clung to this ‘pocket’ government, which was increasingly losing control and public trust," the MP emphasised.
Fries believes that the greatest cause for concern is that this latest round of redundancies will take place without a government report.
"Instead of forming an effective parliamentary coalition that will bear political responsibility for the formation and functioning of the government, we are once again seeing a reliance on an ad hoc majority comprising parliamentary groups and individual MPs, in particular those who previously represented the Opposition Platform – For Life. This approach effectively replaces parliamentary democratic oversight with backroom deals amongst those in power. Instead of forming a professional Cabinet of Ministers that will work for the state and be accountable to the Verkhovna Rada, we risk seeing yet another case of ‘shuffling the deck’. Exactly how ministers will be moved from one chair to another is a secondary issue. If the principles of governance and the quality of personnel policy remain unchanged, and if there is no accountability for results, then changing names will solve nothing. The authorities are perfectly content with the current style of micromanagement. They have tailored it to their own needs and, even when it has a negative impact on the effectiveness of state institutions, public trust and cooperation with international partners, they are trying to hold on to it," the politician added.
What led up to it?
- As noted, Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko will step down due to a change in Ukraine’s political strategy.
- According to Zhelezniak, Svyrydenko is likely to be appointed ambassador to the US, whilst four candidates are being considered for the post of prime minister.
- Vasylenko-Smahliuk reports that on 14 July, "Servant of the People" will discuss personnel matters. The candidates for Prime Minister are Koretsky, Shmyhal, and Fedorov.
