My fellow compatriots,
I always try to speak to you with my deepest personal respect.
I do this through trying to explain to you the logic of the processes within the country, my particular actions or the decisions of the government based on sound reasoning, evidence and facts.
This applies to both national issues and in particular to the most tangible problems you face.
I appeal with common sense and reason, as I believe in the wisdom of our society and a meaningful attitude to reality.
You are aware of my style.
Without any doubt, I know that you are not overly enthusiastic about it as I rarely appeal to your emotions and I try to personally hold back; at least, in public.
But I’m not just the prime minister – “the malevolent image on the screen.” I am a real person with my own feelings, joys, disappointments.
I love our country and like all of you, I am concerned about a lot of things.
I love my family, my wife, my children, my parents, my native town and our native lands.
These are the things I love and together with you I want to live here always – no matter how long the good Lord wills me to live.
I am not indifferent. I care about the pain and the blood, and our terrible realities. And I care about the lies I hear day after day: against all of us, against me personally, against my colleagues and against our country.
A year-and-half back when I was elected to the post of the prime minister, I was well aware that it would be difficult. But I could not imagine the full scope of the problems, however, I knew well that our historic chance to change Ukraine would cost a great deal.
I have an inherent disgust for empty promises. Just as I did two years ago, I say today: it won’t be easy. Radical change can never be easy, the more so, with the complications we encounter.
But, we have a chance. Our success may be rather distant, but the prospect of a good and decent life is within our reach. We are like a ship sailing through a storm. We have saved and protected our ship yet despite it being subjected to heavy blows it has proved its worthiness.
We have introduced order, we began to establish fair rules, and we have patched the largest holes and damage. I admit, we don’t yet see a safe harbour, but our course is right and our historic home of Europe is ahead.
Currently we are surrounded by acrid smoke. This cloud has not come from the flames of war. It comes from the ashes of petty fires, started within our own ship. With the aim to keep warm, these fires were built, not by our enemies, but by disconcerted colleagues who have decided to save themselves instead of saving the country.
A year-and-half ago, thanks to your decision, my fellow compatriots, my political force won the parliamentary elections. Your just decision did not allow one party any advantage over another, as this creates the temptation for authoritarianism.
Your collective wisdom required the formation of a constitutional majority of different political partners in parliament. The only slogan was the salvation of the state and a devotion to difficult reforms. All the allies, as you well remember, charted a single reform plan and pledged to implement it.
Both then and now my political team has remained committed to these reforms and this course. So it was, I’m sure it will prevail. We do not flee the ship and, at the same time, we are not trying to grab the steering wheel, for this wheel is heavy and requires all hands.
Caring about our common salvation, I wasn’t fighting for your favour, my fellow compatriots, and I beg your pardon for my frankness. I was fighting to ensure the integrity of the ship and its course.
This government has never faced a single day of calm waters. In cooperation with my colleagues, every day we were fighting for each correct decision and each vital measure. We did not bend to the wind or yield to compromise with the enemy or even to our own desires. We act not guided by emotions, but by reason and confidence. We have never had another way and we still don’t.
The current political crisis in the state is artificial. This is not only my opinion; it is the opinion of many top world-class specialists.
The author of the reforms that had saved Poland, Leszek Balcerowicz, evaluated our situation very frankly what the majority of our partners think: the main problem of Ukraine is not economic (which means reformist), but political (which means lack of responsibility).
For the current crisis, there is no rational reason. Its ideological basis is an absurd focus on rankings and a shaky hope on based on groundless political projections.
Among them the most threatening is the idea that the current political path is doomed to failure, and the proposition of pre-term parliamentary elections. Those most interested in early elections in Ukraine appear three forces: the populists, the oligarchs and the Kremlin.
Common sense tells us that in the current situation the populists and radicals will seek to take advantage of the trust of people. This is natural, since in an emergency each person would intuitively place confidence in the best promises instead of the merciless truth.
Populists promise to instantly overcome corruption, to pay thousands of euros in wages and pensions tomorrow, employment for everyone, housing and well-being immediately, to make the dollar cost five hryvnia and gas for free forever.
This is a myth; a common lie aimed to win your confidence and your vote.
Meanwhile the interest of the oligarchic forces, which was restricted by our government, includes a new and unconsolidated parliament, the consequence of which will be a weak government as a whole: a weak legislative branch, a weak executive branch and a weakened president, as this creates highly favourable conditions for the resumption of their old schemes.
In turn, the Kremlin is interested in the collapse of Ukraine, torn apart by strife and controversy. The fiasco of Ukraine will be used by Putin to divide the European Union, to lift the sanctions and to justify their crimes against the state of Ukraine.
He who in the current situation deliberately paves the way for early parliamentary elections opens the gate for Putin.
However, we should speak the entire truth. I accept that the current crisis was artificially created. But there are facts that may create future crises.
The truth is that the incumbent government is technocratic. By its very nature, it cannot take decisions that are politically expedient. It takes long-term, correct decisions for the good of the nation which are understandably unpopular.
The main task of the government is to pull Ukraine away from the abyss, which requires an exceptional mobilization of effort. I believe that there are no other recipes.
We have defended the state from the Russian aggression and for the first time in history ensured complete energy independence from the Kremlin.
We have prevented default, put the energy market in order, ensured the uninterrupted payment of pensions and wages, created a new army and police, were building new roads, have filled the state treasury.
We have achieved a lot, but we could have done so much more, as a chronic problem hampering our actions appears to be the simple lack of political unity.
Nowadays they say to the people that everything will suddenly turn good if to replace one or another person in the government. This is pure fantasy.
It’s not about the personalities. Without unity in the parliament, without real unity with the president, the government and the Parliament we will not achieve a breakthrough.
Nowadays the unity of the political class in Ukraine is not a whim or an opportunity. It requires the unquestionable commitment of everyone who wants good for the state.
Another major problem is the deficiencies in the current Ukrainian Constitution.
The basic law contains conceptual contradictions that undermine the unity of the executive branch, create conditions for polyarchy and corrupt court action, and in the end will lead to irresponsibility, inefficiency and injustice.
It is constitutional reform, not by bargaining or struggling against the government; it should become the top priority of true leadership in Ukraine.
The architectural project of our Ukrainian home requires change and a good design, which would form clear and understandable principles of balance and control, development and action, protection and justice.
A few days ago I couldn’t help but be surprised by a question from a Western journalist. His question was not that sophisticated. He just asked: “What is wrong with you, Ukrainian politicians? Why are you capable of winning over criminal regimes, but aren’t capable of negotiating to get long-term cooperation? What is the reason for all that?”
My reply was a makeshift and hardly shrewd. But thinking about this question for some time, I felt that I was looking for an answer.
No, discord is not in our genetic code. Our society demonstrates a unique resistance. The problem lies elsewhere.
For people who pass through a critical ordeal, their common destiny is not decided by occasional leaders, it is decided by the strength and steadfast will of people who are desperately committed to the nation and to the state.
When citizens feel united and there is an honest will, this is their definition of the future and the pattern of behavior for all the people.
Here we unfortunately have a key challenge.
It disgusts me to see our political classes are trying to evade their responsibility and pass it off to others. This is nothing short of disgraceful behaviour that I cannot and I will not accept.
A change of the government will not create a solution to this problem.
The government that I have the honour to lead has proposed to the Parliament and our citizens an action plan for 2016.
The programme is based on the principles of austerity, fair and prudent sharing of the costs, deregulation, de-monopolization, fiscal decentralization, the transparent privatization of state-owned companies and the creation of conditions for growth.
We focus on specific priorities.
These are the struggle against poverty, creating jobs, facilitating the procedures for providing services to the people, creating a new quality of schools and hospitals, the development of infrastructure, reform of tax and customs administrations and taking advantage of the agreement on the free-trade area with the European Union.
I call for the most vital things to be done not tomorrow, but today, in this moment. And for that purpose we need a stable parliamentary coalition and mutual support between the president and the government.
Early parliamentary elections are not an option. The choice, therefore, consists of two possibilities.
The first one that I support involves the restoration of a parliamentary coalition, strengthening of the current composition of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, close cooperation between the Petro Poroshenko Bloc and the People’s Front and the democratic parliamentary forces and, most important, the continuation of reforms in the country initiated by this Government.
The second– the president of Ukraine and his faction, which is the largest in the Verkhovna Rada, take full responsibility and present a new Cabinet and new prime minister, new program and hold talks with the parliamentary forces to support another government and alternative program. But we don’t have much time for talking. The price of delay is economic decline, the loss of control of the country, the loss of support of our Western friends and in the end – the loss of everything we have achieved over the last two years.
Mr. President, dear Bloc of Petro Poroshenko, the faction of the Radical Party and Oleg Lyashko, the faction of Samopomich and Andriy Sadoviy, the faction of Batkyvshchyna and Yulia Tymoshenko. The choice is up to you. I have made my choice.
Stop the backstabbing and this primitive race for power and seats. I and the members of my Cabinet are not clinging to power. I have fought and will fight for our country and the values and goals which the team of the People’s Front and I personally believe in. We will not stop this work.
And finally we all need to show professionalism.
The evidence of that professionalism will be, I consider, the signing by You, Mr. President, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the leaders of national political factions a document on the purpose and principles of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine that are universal in nature and provide for measures to prevent unconstitutional interference in the activities of the executive power, illegal political pressure and corruption.
The adoption of these principles under the ;aw of Ukraine will be the guarantee that those principles will be observed.
We must save our country and open it to a new perspective. Freedom and empowerment are always an inspiration.
I believe in our country. I believe in all that I do. I trust in our common success.
May God bless Ukraine, protect our army and boost honest and incorruptible will of true leaders of our nation.
