The Verkhovna Rada has dismissed the Head of Government Yulia Svyrydenko. This is reported by UNN with reference to the broadcast of the plenary session of parliamentarians on Tuesday, July 14.
Details
The current Head of Government submitted her resignation on Monday, July 13.
The decision to dismiss the Prime Minister was supported by 258 people's deputies during the plenary session. Only one parliamentarian pressed the red button. Five MPs abstained from voting, while 47 did not vote at all.
It is worth noting that three days remained until the anniversary of Yulia Svyrydenko's appointment as Head of Government.
What Yulia Svyrydenko said in parliament before her dismissal from office
Before the vote on her resignation, the Head of the Cabinet of Ministers presented a report to the people's deputies on the work of her team over the past year.
Svyrydenko noted that one of the main tasks of the government was to support Ukrainians who suffer daily from the consequences of the war.
My main task and mission was to help and care for Ukrainians who suffer daily from the war. Together with you, dear people's deputies, dear ministers, we worked in all regions without exception - from front-line territories to the western borders
According to Svyrydenko, the authorities focused on providing people with housing, paying salaries to doctors and teachers, ensuring the operation of schools, kindergartens and enterprises, as well as protecting the population.
She emphasized that in the conditions of Russian aggression, the state must not only eliminate the consequences of attacks but also provide Ukrainians with the opportunity to live with dignity.
No matter how long the aggression lasts, no matter how severe the destruction, we must wake up, restore order, defend ourselves, and live with dignity. This requires concrete actions and immediate help here and now
She also thanked rescuers, repair crews, utility companies, and critical infrastructure workers.
We did everything possible, and often the impossible, for energy workers, educators, transport, healthcare, and internally displaced persons. I admire the courage and resilience of Ukrainians
Separately, Svyrydenko named the agreements on 90 billion euros in credit support from the European Union, a new program from the International Monetary Fund, and further financial assistance from partners as important results.
According to her, such support should ensure greater confidence in financing the state's needs during the current and next years. She also thanked the people's deputies for adopting the reforms necessary to maintain international financial support.
Speaking about European integration, Svyrydenko reported that over the past month, Ukraine has opened two out of six clusters within the framework of negotiations on accession to the European Union.
EU membership is becoming a clear and achievable goal for us
Svyrydenko added that the government continues to implement industrial policy and the "Made in Ukraine" program, the tools of which are intended to support both small and large enterprises.
Also, according to her, structural reforms in the fields of education, energy, and healthcare are ongoing, despite the war and constant security challenges.
At the end of her speech, Svyrydenko thanked the President of Ukraine for his trust, the Verkhovna Rada for cooperation, and Ukrainians for their resilience and daily work.
What are the reasons for the resignation of the Head of the Cabinet of Ministers: expert opinion
Political scientists, opinion leaders, and the media cite various factors that may have prompted Svyrydenko to resign.
Thus, Radio Liberty published an article stating that the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is carrying out reshuffles in the Cabinet of Ministers in connection with a new stage of his political struggle.
In turn, analyst and head of the Ukrainian Forum at the London-based think tank Chatham House, Orysia Lutsevych, expressed the opinion that Svyrydenko's resignation is related to her political affiliation with Andriy Yermak, the former head of the OPU. By pushing the Prime Minister to resign, the Ukrainian leader is trying to completely cleanse the political landscape of his influence.
Svyrydenko was associated with Yermak's legacy, as many considered her his protégé. Her replacement will also show Ukrainians that Zelenskyy is cleansing the executive branch of Yermak's influence
Director of the Institute of World Policy Yevhen Mahda believes that the decision on the resignation of Svyrydenko and her Government was not planned, but sudden.
The Prime Minister, against whom there were almost no public complaints from anyone except the opposition, comes to a meeting with the president, and there she is told that she must resign
Who will replace Svyrydenko in office
Immediately after the resignation of the current head of the Cabinet, Denys Shmyhal will temporarily take the vacant position. He will chair for three days.
And among the main contenders to replace Svyrydenko, the chief executive officer of Naftogaz, Serhiy Koretskyi, is named. In particular, his name is mentioned by political scientist Volodymyr Fesenko.
Koretskyi is the main contender. He is a figure with a positive reputation both in the West and in Ukraine, without any negative baggage. Koretskyi has a reputation as a good manager and, at the same time, let's say, does not have special political ambitions or close political ties with various political factions or oligarchic groups
The premiership of Yuliia Svyrydenko: what the head of the Government promised Ukrainians
Taking office as head of the Cabinet a year ago, Yuliia Svyrydenko made a number of promises. UNN has collected some of them that the politician promised to implement during her term.
Security and Defense
- provide Ukrainians with all necessary tools to protect the independence and life of Ukraine;
- in the first 6 months, focus on high-quality provision of the army, increasing domestic weapons production, and enhancing the technological level of the Ukrainian military.
Economy and Business
- direct maximum efforts towards the self-sufficiency of the Ukrainian economy;
- continue support for the Ukrainian producer;
- make every effort to support Ukrainian entrepreneurs;
- implement quick and tangible steps for business, including: continue comprehensive deregulation, stop unauthorized pressure on business, accelerate privatization, and introduce effective mechanisms to support production in Ukraine;
- introduce a full moratorium on business inspections;
- preserve and scale the most effective tools for supporting the Ukrainian producer, jobs, Ukrainian goods and services, and exports.
Public Administration
- continue the full openness of the Government to cooperation with the Verkhovna Rada;
- optimize the state apparatus;
- conduct a full audit of state expenditures with the aim of reducing them.
European Integration
- be ready across all negotiation clusters;
- continue the European integration of Ukraine.
What achievements the Cabinet under Svyrydenko's chairmanship has
Among the main ones, political scientists and opinion leaders mention that:
- the EU opened two negotiation clusters;
- unblocked external financing;
- opened arms exports;
- the Ministry of Defense, together with the procurement agency, began purchasing drones based on transparent tenders;
- appointed a new head of the customs service and the BEB;
- updated the supervisory boards of Energoatom and OGTSU.
However, Svyrydenko's team also had failures.
Among them are highlighted:
- systematic accumulation of unfulfilled reforms;
- failure of the 'Kachka-Kos plan'. According to the assessment of a coalition of eight specialized organizations, in the first half of the year Ukraine fulfilled it by only 15 points out of 100;
- disruption of cooperation with the parliament;
- budget changes without a real increase in military salaries;
- use of the reserve fund, which should have been used for unforeseen state expenditures, for cashback programs for the population;
- agreements on a new program with the IMF already with direct requirements to increase taxes;
- stalling the launch of the promised moratorium on business inspections;
- failure of the military reform (including the TCC).
In addition, a significant number of government officials from Svyrydenko's team became subjects of corruption scandals.
What will be the further fate of the former head of the Cabinet
In the corridors, it is said that Yuliia Svyrydenko may replace Olha Stefanishyna as the Ambassador of Ukraine to the USA.
This version is also supported by political scientist Kateryna Roshchuk. She believes that Stefanishyna, in the position of the chief Ukrainian diplomat in the United States, undermined the reputation of official Kyiv on the international stage. After all, the politician was appointed to this position already when she was involved in a criminal proceeding of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU).
Reminder
As reported by the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine received a resignation letter from the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Yuliia Svyrydenko.