Since 2014 Euromaidan Revolution, the Government of Ukraine has declared aiming at resolute reforms. In spite of the fact that it proved to be able to resist Russian aggression resorting to the international support and internal mobilization of the economy, it has not shown any visible results in the economy redirection at the improvement of the living standard. In April 2016 two major parliament groups entered the shady deal of redistributing the state power, which has led to the appointment of Volodymyr Hroisman’s Cabinet. It is widely advertised as “political responsible” as opposed to “technocratic and reformist” previous instalment. Can it succeed in further reforms?
War with Russia remains a major obstacle to any economic reforms. It serves as a screen for every act of inertness retarding true changes. Indisposition to reforms is expressed by procedure-controlling Ministry of Justice and resource-managing Ministry of Finance. In Q2 2014 electronic circulation of documents was often presented as an inevitable step to the corruption restraining. Nonetheless, the whole idea was laid away, mostly due to the opposition of the old generation of public servants. Besides, state databases proved to be not resistant enough to the cyber dangers as digital security is not developed in Ukraine. The only leap forward is the introduction of the ProZorro tender system to reduce embezzlement in public procurements.
Volodymyr Hroisman biography as closely connected to Petro Poroshenko’s. They share Vinnytsia region as their home province. Since mid-2000s they supported each other in election campaigns. It was not strange, that Hroisman was considered to be Poroshenko’s protégé. Yet in April 2016 he tried to play his own game laying down his conditions of becoming the Prime Minister. He succeeded in promoting his trustees to first-rate positions. Holding the Prime Minister post in Ukraine is always dangerous as political groups are eager to frame up any high official. By the way, the coalition has not managed to agree the Minister of Healthcare as too many vested interests clash over easy money, mostly made on drugs import.
Extreme populism and nihilism may become trademarks of Hroisman’s Cabinet. After each winter roads all over Ukraine need maintenance; Prime Minister could not avoid resorting to cheap PR announcing total repairs. At the same time, new corruption scandals emerge, notably at the Customs.
Can Hroisman be successful? Of course, but as much as a person who made his career thanks to his dad’s ties and whose base higher education is just a correspondence course of a third-rate regional college.
