KIEV, August 30. /TASS/. The new Ukrainian government is formed by members who worked under the former president and who have certain ties to Ukraine’s Western partners, head of the Ukrainian Institute for Analysis and Political Management Ruslan Bortnik told TASS on Friday.
"16 out of 18 new Cabinet members are people who worked in and with the old government of Groysman-Yatsenyuk, but weren’t major players. For example, Alexey Goncharuk [the new Prime Minister — TASS] was an adviser to former Deputy PM Stepan Kubiv. The same government could have worked under [former Ukrainian President] Pyotr Poroshenko," he said, noting that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky failed to keep his promise to appoint new people to the government.
The expert also noted that many Cabinet members have ties to the West: these people have received a Western education, worked in corresponding organizations and received grants. "Absolutely everyone has expansive ties to the West. This is a pro-Western liberal government, composed by people who took on secondary or tertiary roles in 2014-2019," he added.
According to Bortnik, the selection of candidates "depended on two factors: Zelensky’s trust and support of Western partners, that is, the ability to work in the conditions of maintaining the support of the EU and the USA."
The new government will be "purely technical," the expert stated. "In the political sphere, the work will fully depend on the president, while the policy of the previous government on social and economic issues will continue, as modified to keep in line with Zelensky’s stance," he added.
Bortnik stressed that the new Cabinet cannot be considered incompetent, as most of its members are people with extensive governance experience.
On Thursday, the newly formed Ukrainian parliament began its work. During the first session, the parliament appointed Ukraine’s new Cabinet of Ministers, along with PM Alexey Goncharuk.