Ukraine- Political Analysis Report- February 10

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Ukraine - Political Analysis Report- February 10

Yushchenko's New Staff Strategy
By Andriy Duda
EMU Political Analyst

The most discussed subject in Ukraine today is President Yushchenko's new staff policy. Appointing the new government staff and a new corps of regional administrators (heads of regional administrations) brought to light several tendencies in Yushchenko's staff policy. First, the staff appointments are directly tied to political arrangements made by Viktor Yushchenko and opposition political forces in the period after the first election tour and the Orange Revolution. This concerns making good on Yushchenko's obligations to the Yulia Tymoshenko bloc and the Socialist Party. Second, the appointment package for the first time included not only government member positions and directors of various central organs of the executive, but also heads of state administrations (oblasts and the city of Sevastopol). This testifies to the creation of a transparent system of staff appointments on the regional level contrary to protectionist chamber procedures in use under Leonid Kuchma, and about real “politicization”
of the positions of the heads of regional (oblast) administrations. (As a matter of fact still under Kuchma's strategy of state service of Ukraine reform, these positions were planned to become political). Third, aside from the political character of the appointments, professionals landed the key positions in the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. First of all this concerns the economic bloc. First Vice Prime Minister who will most probably be in charge of the fuel and energy complex, former Prime Minister Anatoliy Kinakh, Minister of Economy - one of the most talented Ukrainian lobbyists in the economics sphere, author of hundreds of draft laws -formerly Deputy Minister of Economy Serhiy Teriokhin, and Finance Minister - former Vice Prime Minister in several previous governments, architect of Ukrainian economic reforms in the 1990's -Viktor Pynzenyk. A professional as well, was appointed to lead the strategic ministry in the new policy of President Viktor Yushchenko - Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of Ukraine. Borys Tarasiuk had already previously been Minister of Foreign Affairs and proved to be a most professional specialist.

Most interesting are the appointments in the military organs - the Minister of the Interior - Yuriy Lutsenko of the Socialist Party (although, in our opinion, he should be more correctly positioned as “Yushchenko's man” and the Security Service of Ukraine - Oleksandr Turchynov of the BYUT (Yulia Tymoshenko) bloc. Appointing civilians to militarized government departments speaks among others, about a concerted effort of the new state leadership to fight corruption in the law enforcement organs. It is persons from outside the law enforcement system that are capable to substantially optimize the situation and return the trust to the law enforcement organs.
In all of the new appointments Yulia Tymoshenko's formula “first - moral values, then - professionalism” was adhered to. As of today no person having to do with criminal “anti-corruption” matters was appointed to a higher state position (with the exception of Yulia Tymoshenko, but this is a separate subject).
A few words about the political orientation of the new government. In the foreign policy the Yushchenko-Tymoshenko government has a clear European orientation (Y.Tymoshenko and B.Tarasiuk were always irritants to the Russian policy), in the interior policy plan - this is the most liberal government in all of Ukraine's history during the period of its independence.


Minister of the Interior Yuriy Lutsenko fired the deputy minister - commander of the Ministry of the Interior of Ukraine troops Serhiy Popkov. As is widely known, Popkov was the commander who gave the order to mobilize the interior army during the Orange Revolution. He was ready to throw a few thousand armed troops against the people, and only a political intrusion averted the attack. Even the then USA Secretary of State Colin Powell tried to call Kuchma. Popkov himself said that these events were only training.

The French party ”Union pour movement populaire” will help “Our Ukraine” in staff training and will support it in its entry into international political organizations. Such a cooperation agreement was signed in Kyiv on February 8th at the “Our Ukraine” secretariat by Roman Bezsmertnyi, Vice Premier of Administrative Reform and Nicola Sarkozy, head of the “Union pour movement populaire”, The parties agreed to act in favor of drawing Ukraine and France closer together and also bringing Ukraine closer to the European structures.

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