For the first time in its post-Soviet history, Ukraine looks to be getting a truly reform-minded government, but it remains to be seen if the new Cabinet can drag the country out of its economic mire, analysts say.
In the final days of 1999, President Leonid Kuchma filled 15 out of 20 seats in the new Cabinet, giving several key posts to politicians with long-standing reform credentials.
Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko, who submitted the candidacies for Kuchma’s approval, said on Jan. 4 that the remaining five ministers should be appointed soon.
Although many of the recently appointed ministers were merely going back to their old jobs in the previous government, analysts were still quick to praise the new Cabinet’s reformist look.
‘This is a serious government of serious people who belong to the new generation, think in a different way, and have an understanding of what’s going on,’ said Hlib Vyshlinsky, an economist with the independent International Center for Policy Studies in Kyiv. ‘This could be our government of success,’ Vyshlinsky said.
Some of the Cabinet’s new appointments indeed seem promising.
The key post of first deputy prime minister, previously held by moderately reform-minded former shipbuilder Anatoly Kinakh, was given to Yury Yekhanurov, who was previously deputy chairman of the parliamentary commission on business and investment.
The 51-year-old Yekhanurov, an economist by education, is often described as an ardent defender of small businesses, and a person who gets along with anyone.
Before winning a parliamentary seat in the 1998 elections, Yekhanurov headed the State Property Fund. He then moved on to jobs at the Economy Ministry and the State Committee for the Development of Entrepreneurship.
‘He understands perfectly why this country needs a private sector, and is expected to be the main promoter of private business in the new government,’ Vyshlinsky said.
Many analysts believe that the drafting of the Cabinet’s economic reform strategies would continue to rest with Serhy Tyhypko, who was moved from the post of deputy prime minister to head the Economy Ministry.
Although, at face value, his new appointment appears to be a demotion, Tyhypko has in fact received much more authority over economic matters than before, analysts said.
In his recent decree on the administrative reform, Kuchma subordinated all government agencies dealing with foreign and domestic economic issues to Tyhypko’s ministry, making the Economy Ministry the largest and most powerful in the new Cabinet.
In particular, under the decree the Economy Ministry incorporates the Foreign Trade Ministry; the State Committee on Foreign Investment; the National Agency for Reconstruction and European Integration (responsible for drafting foreign investment projects); the State Export Control Service (an agency dealing largely with military exports); and the Free Economic Zones Agency.
Another highly praised addition to the new Cabinet is 45-year old Viktor Lysytsky, formerly chief advisor to Yushchenko when the new prime minister was governor of the central bank.
Lysytsky was appointed to the newly created post of government secretary to manage Cabinet affairs. One of his main tasks involves implementing a key part of Kuchma’s latest administrative reform drive – turning the Cabinet’s present cumbersome structure into an efficient and transparent body.
One of Lysytsky’s first decisions was to ban Cabinet departments from granting requests from businesses for tax breaks and other privileges.
Other new faces in the Cabinet that were generally well accepted include the famous Ukrainian actor Bohdan Stupka as culture minister and Mykola Zhulynsky, a well-known philologist and writer, as deputy prime minister.
However, some analysts said the new appointees have yet to demonstrate their reformist credentials. To prove themselves, they will have to take every opportunity to root out Ukraine’s notorious corruption, ease the tax burden, boost development of the private sector and bring back foreign investors – something government members said they previously lacked the authority to enforce.
‘Every one of them has to prove what kind of reformer he is. Right now their reputation is based on positive reports in the U.S. media,’ said Vyacheslav Pikhovshek, director of the Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research.
‘Besides, all of them – including Yushchenko – have their dark and black sides,’ Pikhovshek said.
One appointment that raised a few eyebrows is that of Yulia Tymoshenko, who became a deputy prime minister.
The 39-year-old Tymoshenko, whom journalists have dubbed ‘the sex symbol of Ukrainian politics’ for her comely appearance, was a one-time business partner of the notorious former Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko.
Lazarenko fled from Ukraine to the United States last February to seek political asylum after being accused of stealing money from his government. He was also briefly held in Switzerland in December 1998 while authorities there investigated large-scale money-laundering operations involving companies linked to Lazarenko.
Tymoshenko headed United Energy Systems, a big trading corporation, from 1995 to 1997, when Lazarenko held top government posts. But after Lazarenko fled Ukraine, Tymoshenko shed her bitter opposition stance and became a loyal supporter of the president.
‘For me, she represents everything that’s wrong with this country,’ said one foreign political expert.
At the same time, many praise Tymoshenko as a highly energetic and politically capable woman. It’s not clear, however, what authority she will have in the Cabinet, since current legislation does not spell out clearly the division of powers between deputy prime ministers.
