Now, the hard work begins for the new president, new prime minister and new Cabinet. The newness will wear off soon and people will start quickly to judge them by their actions.
Ukrainians and their friends have a long wish list for the new leaders, ranging from creating better conditions for investment to creating rule of law and ending oligarch privileges and monopolies.
There were some very hopeful picks made by President Volodymyr Zelensky and his chosen prime minister, Oleksiy Honcharuk. We are particularly excited that Finance Minister Oksana Markarova is staying put. We are hopeful about the appointment of others who have good reputations, such as Dmytro Kuleba as deputy prime minister in charge of European integration, Mykhailo Fedorov as deputy prime minister and minister of digital transformation, Andriy Zahorodniuk as defense minister and Tymofiy Mylovanov as economy minister. In all, it appears that Honcharuk favored people he worked with as head of the Better Regulation Delivery Office. That’s where Denys Malyuska, the new justice minister, and Oleksiy Orzhel, the new energy minister, worked.
Unfortunately, the presence of Interior Minister Arsen Avakov will taint the Cabinet’s ability to be a reformist one. He’s a toxic figure who has blocked police reform and has credible accusations of corruption against him. President Volodymyr Zelensky will live to regret keeping Avakov in power. Avakov’s continuing presence also fuels more suspicions that billionaire oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky has an outsized influence on the new administration. There are other troublesome choices, including Vladyslav Kryklii as minister of infrastructure.
As parliament met late into the night on Aug. 29, it made other key appointments, including replacing the useless Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko with Ruslan Ryaboshapka, who has a much better reputation.
We hope this Cabinet gels into a truly effective group of reformers. There’s plenty that needs to be done and Ukrainians will give their support as long as the government puts the public interest above all.
