Premier refusal: what consequences can result from the failed resignation of the head of the Cabinet of Ukraine

President Vladimir Zelensky and Prime Minister Aleksey Goncharuk attended a public event for the first time together. This happened during a meeting of a plane arriving in Kiev with the bodies of 11 Ukrainians who died in a plane crash in Iran.

Thus, politicians put a symbolic point in the conflict, the reason for which was the publication in the social networks of the audio recording of the meeting of the Ukrainian government. On it, Goncharuk allegedly called the president’s understanding of the country's economic processes “very primitive”. At the same time, he called himself "a complete ignoramus in the economy."

After the scandal that followed, Goncharuk wrote a letter of resignation from his post, but the head of state at a personal meeting with the Prime Minister announced that he would not accept the resignation.

“I decided to give you and your government a chance if you decide certain things that today are very important and concern our society. Now is not the time to undermine the state economically and politically, ”Zelensky said.

In response, Goncharuk on Facebook called the president’s decision not to dismiss him a testament to the “high credit of trust” that the head of state issued to the government.

Zelensky’s decision caused a mixed reaction in Ukrainian society and the media. The famous Ukrainian journalist, editor of the Strana.ua portal Igor Guzhva on Facebook described the story of Goncharuk’s aborted resignation as evidence that the “pigs” (that is, the group in the party “Servant of the People”, associated with the American billionaire George Soros) began an independent political game.

“They kind of say:“ Volodya. People from your faction are constantly attacking us. And we are tired of it. Decide - with whom are you? With them? Or with us? ”Wrote Guzhva.

Ukrainian lawyer Volodymyr Zhuravsky on the 112 channel’s blog described the story of publishing an audio recording of a meeting in the government and the subsequent abortive resignation of Goncharuk as “double humiliation” for Zelensky. Both Zhuravsky and Guzhva draw attention to the fact that the West has pointedly supported the Prime Minister. The Ukrainian representative office of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) very positively described the work of the prime minister.

“The prudent macroeconomic policy of the government and the NBU ( National Bank of Ukraine. - RT ) contributed to the strengthening of the economy of Ukraine,” - said in a commentary by the representative office of Interfax-Ukraine.

The threat of early elections

RT sources in Ukrainian parties praised the incident with the failed resignation of Goncharuk as evidence of the president’s weakness and a harbinger of possible political changes in the state.

“The show with the resignation of the prime minister showed several important trends at once. First: the head of government wants autonomy and is not ready to fulfill the will of the president, which is bad for Zelensky. Second: Ukraine is still under external control. Zelensky does not risk confrontation with Western partners. For such a demarche in any normal country they dismiss, but Zelensky gave Goncharuk a second chance. And all because Goncharuk is supported in the West. The logic of the head of state is understandable: Ukraine cannot live without Western loans, and relations with Russia are ruined. And, as you know, whoever pays is the one who orders the music, ”says a RT source in the Servant of the People party.

The interlocutor of RT from the party "Fatherland", in turn, believes that Goncharuk was not going to resign.

“Goncharuk actually demanded more authority for himself, knowing full well that he would not be fired. The president’s reaction to what is happening may lead to a drop in his rating. In Ukraine, they do not like weak politicians. Zelensky lost in this situation, ”says the deputy.

It should be noted that Goncharuk during his speech to the deputies tried to explain why he submitted an application to Zelensky and not to the secretariat of the Verkhovna Rada. According to him, it is written in the name of the chairman of the Rada, and the president could at any time redirect this statement to parliament.

“This is due to the fact that we are one team. We all came to parliament, to power, to change the country thanks to this person, thanks to Vladimir Zelensky. We all respect him, and it’s important for us to have 100% trust within the team, ”he said.

Director of the Kiev Center for Political Studies and Conflictology, Mikhail Pogrebinsky, believes that the resignation was more like an ultimatum.

“He wanted the president to leave him and got what he wanted. The president lost in this case, ”said an RT expert.

At the same time, the story with the audio recordings showed that there were serious disagreements within the pro-presidential party “Servant of the People” in the Verkhovna Rada, a RT source in the Voice party believes.

“A part of the deputies who are focused on Igor Kolomoisky shouted the loudest about the need to dismiss Goncharuk. The other part of the deputies, on the contrary, supports the prime minister. This indicates a big crisis within the party, which means that the likelihood of early parliamentary elections is growing, ”the deputy said, adding that in the new elections, the“ Servant of the People ”will not be able to show the same good result as before.

Proof of weakness

Experts believe that, leaving Goncharuk at his post, the Ukrainian president made a mistake for which he would have to pay, possibly in the near future.

“In terms of voters' expectations, Zelensky should have fired Goncharuk or made a tougher statement. Everyone in Ukraine, and beyond, closely watched the scandal that showed Zelensky’s weakness. This may further intensify his conflict not only with the government, on the actions of which the growth of the welfare of the population and the ratings of Zelensky himself depends, but also with the NBU, and even with the Verkhovna Rada, ”says a RT source at the Kiev International Institute of Sociology.

• The meeting of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in Kiev
• RIA News

In turn, Mikhail Pogrebinsky believes that Zelensky should have submitted a statement on the resignation of Goncharuk to the Verkhovna Rada and insisted that she decide on his departure.

Deputy Director of the Institute of CIS Countries Vladimir Zharikhin in an interview with RT suggested that the conflict Zelensky and Goncharuk was the first round "in the struggle between the teams of Igor Kolomoisky and Soros." According to him, the Ukrainian oligarch supports Zelensky, the American billionaire - Goncharuk.

“The Soros team won: Zelensky did not dismiss the prime minister. Goncharuk did not accidentally appeal to the president, and not to the Verkhovna Rada. He wanted Zelensky to make a choice, thereby showing who is stronger, with whom he can afford to quarrel, and with whom - not. So the president showed it, ”the expert concluded.