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2.0 Politics
2.1 Five reasons why Zelenskiy is failing in Ukraine
Poor Volodymyr Zelenskiy. In April 2019, the comedian-turned-presidential candidate won Ukraine’s highest office by a nearly three to one margin before trouncing the country’s established political parties a few months later in the parliamentary elections. His new party won so many seats that Zelenskiy held a majority in parliament. Now Zelenskiy faces a political future that is no laughing matter.
Zelenskiy was elected on three promises: to end the war in eastern Ukraine, to make the large Eastern European country of 42mn rich, and to stanch corruption. But after an initial burst of activity on the reform front, he ended up faltering on these pledges. The kettledrum rhetoric about fundamentally changing Ukraine has faded away to a faint pianissimo. Only a year in, he seems languid and defeated.
The shift isn’t just in tone; it’s also in substance and personnel. Zelenskiy sacked his reform-minded prime minister, most of his cabinet, prosecutor general, and many other top officials in March and April, stunning everyone. The timing couldn’t have been worse. The global coronavirus pandemic reached Ukraine a few weeks later and may well devour up to 8.2% of its GDP. Zelenskiy has hired flunkeys with little experience and even old Yanukovych cronies. At the same time, he is supporting politically motivated charges against the former president, prosecutor general, former infrastructure minister, and heads of the tax and customs services.
In May, the Ministry of Finance terminated the head of the independent supervisory board of the MGU, the independent company that oversees gas transmission. Historically, gas was the prime sector for self-enrichment, but that started to change in 2014. Zelenskiy’s move is a step back toward the bad old days of rampant defalcation, potentially paving the way to sacking the heads of the independent supervisory boards that govern Naftogaz, PrivatBank, and other important state-run companies. Goodbye, corporate governance—we hardly knew ye.
In July, the head of the National Bank of Ukraine resigned after a one-on-one meeting with Zelenskiy, citing political pressure. Tomas Fiala, the head of Dragon Capital, the top investment firm in Ukraine, said that he would suspend all future investments. “This is the last straw. One can only guess what the motives are. It is either complete incompetence or sabotage motivated by Russia,” Fiala wrote.
What went wrong?
Herewith five theories to explain the radical, and often mercurial, shifts of the past year.
Servant of an Oligarch: Zelenskiy is a puppet of Ihor Kolomoisky. Kolomoisky, who owned the largest bank in country, PrivatBank, has been accused of looting the bank to the tune of $6bn before losing it in 2016. Now
5 UKRAINE Country Report August 2020 www.intellinews.com
