On July 15, President Leonid Kuchma summed up economic and political results for the first half of the year during his traditional meeting with reporters at the Presidential Administration press center. The president caused a political sensation when he stated his readiness to withdraw his bill on constitutional amendments from the Constitutional Court. Speaking about his new cabinet appointments, the president satisfied the journalists’ curiosity only in part.
PRICES
At the beginning of his brief opening speech, Pres. Kuchma said the economic growth rate has doubled over the same period of last year. Positive shifts are discernible in the general pattern of production, tax reform has finally gotten underway (although many uncalled-for preferences are still in place), and budget receipts have exceeded targets for four months in a row. We have seen growing exports and imports (up 27 and 29%, respectively), higher consumer confidence, and an expanding consumer market. Simultaneously, the recent crisis on the foodstuffs market caused many problems. The president opined that the price hikes were caused by panic buying, to which local authorities failed to respond adequately. Pres. Kuchma underscored that he insisted the government determine what caused the crisis.
“As president, I am not interested in how many criminal cases have been instigated by law enforcement. I would like to know what will be done to avoid a similar situation next year,” he said. Citing the experts, Pres. Kuchma stressed that this year’s crop is estimated at the level of 1999-2000 and “there is no cause for panic. Ukraine had and will have bread.”
“Which government — the current or the previous one — is more responsible for creating panic on the foodstuffs market, and what lessons will be drawn?” Everybody is to blame, stressed the president in response to The Day’s question. “The previous government is perhaps equally responsible for not painting a clear picture. If the people had known that our grain reserves would last a whole year, nothing of the kind would have happened,” he said. “Do you know that in the West, in particular, in the USA officials are forbidden to comment on the future crop? Our officials started to complain in the winter that crops had been frostbitten and later scorched by the sun. If they saw what was happening, why didn’t they take preventive measures?” Thus, according to the president, the answer to the question of who is more responsible is quite obvious: “There is no system and hence no results.” And no administrative measures will remedy this situation, he believes. He personally opposes such measures. “The only thing I’ve asked the premier not to do is to start a witch hunt. Before everything else, members of the government and regional authorities should see whether they can bring things back to normal.” This seems to be the answer to the demands of the opposition, which, playing on the crisis sentiment, has called for the lynching of the agrarian bloc along with the Minister of the Economy.
FOREIGN POLICY
Among the major foreign policy successes the president named the continuation of an “intensive and dynamic” dialog with the EU. According to him, the next item on the agenda are preparations for the Ukraine-EU Summit slated for October 2-3 in Yalta.
With obvious satisfaction, Pres. Kuchma pointed to the warming of our relationship with the US, evidence of which is Ukraine’s participation in the peacekeeping effort in Iraq, active cooperation in the sphere of Euro-Atlantic integration, as well as deeper cooperation between the US and GUUAM.
Simultaneously, he reiterated that Russia is Ukraine’s major economic and political partner and that he “has every reason to be satisfied” with the development of cooperation with Russia in particular and the CIS in general. The president believes that any change in Ukraine’s foreign policy priorities with respect to Russia would be a tragedy for Ukraine.
POLITICAL REFORM
Despite the fact that the president omitted internal politics in his opening statement, the journalists broached this issue in their first question. “Did the representatives of the parliamentary majority coordinate their stance with the president prior to the July 11 vote? It is an open secret that the opposition continues to accuse the Presidential Administration of pressuring the majority...”
“Where’s the pressure here, if it has a position?” the president retorted. He further called the past six months of the parliament’s work “very productive” and said that “the parliament should be given credit for making so many groundbreaking decisions.”
As for the different approaches to the issue of political reform, the lawmakers laid the groundwork for the confrontation when they set up the corresponding parliamentary committee, which failed to reach an agreement. “Can their document, signed by a hundred and fifty deputies, compare to the bill drafted taking into account the people’s opinion?” asked Pres. Kuchma. Returning to the events of Thursday and Friday the week before last, the president said that Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn in fact called him at 11:30 p.m. on July 10 and said there was a way out from the existing situation. In response, Leonid Kuchma suggested that the parliament work hand in hand with the government in line with the political agreement that the both sides signed at the Mariyinsky Palace. The president believes that in passing the buck to the Constitutional Court the parliament showed it does not want to shoulder the responsibility for the destiny of the political reform.
In his turn, Leonid Kuchma does not want the presidential bill — “although it is not presidential any more, as it takes public opinion into account” — to become a “stumbling block.” “I have instructed [my aides] to study whether it is possible — from the legal viewpoint — to recall this bill from the Constitutional Court,” he told the journalists, who did not expect to hear anything of the kind. “If the lawmakers like my bill, why don’t they try to effect a political reform based on it.”
Pres. Kuchma once again denied rumors that he is attempting to extend his term of office as part of his constitutional reform that foresees holding presidential and parliamentary elections in the same year. Addressing half-jocularly the journalist who raised this issue he said: “Find in my bill any possibility whereby I could extend my term of office, and I’ll buy you a bottle.”
CADRES
The news conference paid special attention to the new cabinet appointments. According to the president, he has appointed Serhiy Poliakov of the People’s Democratic Party Environment Minister; Mykhailo Chornovil, Rector of the Kirovohrad State Technical University, chairman of the Kirovohrad Oblast State Administration; and Vasyl Motsny, ex-governor of the Kirovohrad oblast, Deputy Minister for Industrial Policy.
Journalists also asked whether Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Anatoly Zlenko, who has recently turned 65, is going to leave his post. The president noted that he admires Mr. Zlenko, whose work has been extremely important to Ukraine, but, simultaneously, he will hew to the letter of law, under which officials are to resign when they reach a certain age.
The president also stated he is satisfied with the work of Presidential Chief of Staff Viktor Medvedchuk and sees no reasons to dismiss him: “There are no reasons to do this. I believe that the Presidential Administration is working in a clear and considered manner.”
When asked about the delay with the appointment of a new NSDC secretary, with Yevhen Marchuk appointed as Defense Minister, Pres. Kuchma answered honestly: “I’m thinking...”
