Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk’s resignation after a series of leaked audio recordings appeared to show the prime minister saying the president does not understand the economy.
Honcharuk submitted his resignation letter to Zelensky on the morning of Jan. 17 and announced the move in a Facebook post.
He offered his resignation less than two days after audio recordings of his closed meeting with several ministers leaked online. Some comments made by the prime minister on how to talk about the economy with the president “who doesn’t understand how the economy works” might have come across as disrespectful.
Initially, it appeared that Honcharuk’s tenure at the helm of the government could come to an end after just four months. However, as the day wore on, it became clear that Honcharuk was actually signaling his loyalty to the president.
That evening, Zelensky chose not to accept Honcharuk’s resignation.
“I decided I will give you and your Cabinet a chance,” Zelensky said at a meeting with prime minister, a video of which the president’s office posted online.
The video, posted by the office of President Volodymyr Zelensky on the evening of Jan. 17, shows Zelensky meeting with Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk. Zelensky declined Honcharuk’s resignation letter but warned that he expected quick results from the Cabinet. (President’s Office/Youtube)
Leaked audio
In a Facebook post, Honcharuk said the leaked audio files were doctored fragments of various government meetings meant to create an impression that his team doesn’t respect the president.
“Many groups of influence, which are trying to gain access to financial flows, benefit from such a presentation, but this is not true,” Honcharuk wrote. “I came to this post to execute the president’s program. He is a model of openness and honesty for me. I wrote the resignation letter to cast away any doubts of our respect for and trust in the president.”
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Zelensky referred to the leak as “a very unpleasant situation” during the recorded meeting with Honcharuk on Jan. 17. He also ordered law enforcement agencies to urgently investigate the leak.
Economy, Trade and Agriculture Minister Timofiy Mylovanov, who was present at the secretly recorded meeting in question, expressed support for Honcharuk, calling him “the best prime minister in Ukraine’s history.”
He said Honcharuk was targeted by the opponents of his struggle against corruption and independence from political interference.
“There’s no corruption in the government, no siphoning off money from the budget, no plundering from state enterprises. There are no quotas for political appointments,” Mylovanov wrote on Facebook, adding that the opponents launched an attack on the prime minister in order to install a more dishonest figure who would be loyal to them.
Demonstrative resignation
While Honcharuk’s decision to submit his resignation initially surprised many observers, it soon became clear that it was most likely a damage control tactic.
According to the Constitution, the prime minister has to submit his or her resignation letter not to the president, but directly to the parliament. In other words, Honcharuk’s letter was probably meaningless legally.
Several hours after announcing his resignation online, Honcharuk drew the ire of lawmakers as he addressed them from the tribune during their morning session.
“I spoke with the president and gave him my letter of resignation. He has the right to forward it to the parliament at any time,” Honcharuk said.
Lawmakers from minority factions (Zelensky’s party holds the majority of seats) called the move disrespectful to the parliament and the Constitution. The resignation letter should have been handed to the parliament’s speaker and not passed along through the president, they said.
Honcharuk excused himself, saying he had to meet with the president, and didn’t stay to answer the lawmakers’ questions, specifically about the government’s decision to raise salaries for top officials and pay them generous year-end bonuses, which sparked public controversy.
