The current developments in the highest echelons of power around the possible resignation of the Yatseniuk Cabinet resemble a game. Each parliamentary faction, affected by its beneficiaries, is playing its own part. At a session on Monday night the Petro Poroshenko Bloc (PPB) decided to deem the work of the Cabinet of Ministers unsatisfactory. Moreover, supposing there are 150 signatures for the government’s resignation, the faction will vote for.
The People’s Front (PF) faction responded with an urgent meeting, where a decision not to vote for the resignation of the government was passed. The PF do not rule out leaving the coalition, should resignation be supported by a majority of votes.
It is revealing that the PPB held its meeting at the office of the President’s Staff, while the PF held its at the Cabinet of Ministers. This says a lot about the independence of the factions, and most importantly, about the form of government. Formally, we are still a parliamentary-presidential republic.
The other factions – Self Reliance, Fatherland, the Radical Party, and the Opposition Bloc – said they would vote for the resignation of the Cabinet of Ministers. However, given the rules in Ukrainian politics (or rather the absence thereof), it is pointless to jump to conclusions about one or another faction’s policy.
“The situation has never been so bad under this coalition,” shared one of the People’s Front MPs in a conversation with The Day. “And the worst is that those, who triggered it from the president’s camp, hardly fully control it. I cannot see any logic in the current political processes: it is like Brownian motion without any clear-cut strategic goal for the country.”
Another evidence of “Brownian motion” can be seen in the fact that the factions (PPB, Self Reliance, and Fatherland) were collecting signatures for the resignation of the Yatseniuk government on their own. “Today, Self Reliance and Fatherland will do anything to secure an early elections scenario, any means will go. I cannot see anything that could stop them,” said our interlocutor.
Self Reliance eventually decided to join the list of signatories compiled by PPB. Thus, 150 signatures have been collected.
“Probably, if our Western partners do support the resetting of the government, it will not include an early election to the Verkhovna Rada,” shared another, non-affiliated MP. “They are considering Jaresko and Hroisman as substitutes for Yatseniuk, because our political class is not yet mature enough. As far as Saakashvili is concerned, his candidacy is unrealistic. And if we change the government, and not pull down the coalition, it offers a new opportunity to work in a new configuration. But this is an idealistic scenario, not fit for our political culture.”
President had already urged Prime Minister Arsenii Yatseniuk and Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin to resign. “I had a meeting and a very thorough conversation with the Prosecutor General. I asked Mr. Shokin to submit his resignation. The government should be measured with the same measure. Society has obviously decided that there have been more faults than achievements, and will not grant confidence to the ministers.”
Literally an hour later, as Yatseniuk was addressing the parliament, Shokin announced his resignation.
Poroshenko’s move should probably impress the public as a gesture of the president’s strong will. However, after the West’s numerous requests to fire Shokin, this looks more like a forced measure. It is quite possible that Shokin is sort of swapped for Yatseniuk: late past year the US vice president Biden, while on a visit to Ukraine, effectively urged to preserve the current configuration of power, i.e., with Yatseniuk as prime minister.
The present situation is a clear indication that politicians hardly learn from history. Suffice it to recall the times of the Ukrainian People’s Republic (UNR) and West Ukrainian People’s Republic (ZUNR). “Ukrainians’ eternal problem is that, on the one hand, they are capable of heroic deeds, but on the other, they are incapable of systemic state-building,” according to the former MP Oles Donii. And this is true not only for the UNR period, but also for a large part of Ukraine’s history. Meanwhile, the key problem of the incumbent leaders is that they see power as an instrument for their personal enrichment.”
