The emerging political crisis situation forces Bankova and Arakhamia to look for non-standard solutions to overcome the problem with votes in parliament.
It is no secret that the Servant of the People parliamentary faction, which formed a one-man coalition in the fall of 2019, is now having difficulty finding votes in parliament to make the necessary decisions. Of the 235 “servants,” as the Verkhovna Rada board shows, in the best cases only 180-190 press the button required by Bankova. The role of crutches on which this incompetent majority relies is played by people’s deputies from the banned Opposition for Life (during the war they created two groups “Platform for Life and Peace” and “Restoration of Ukraine”) and deputy groups “Party “For the Future” and “Trust”. It is at their expense that the authorities get the necessary votes.
One of the latest votes, which clearly demonstrates the current situation in the Rada, is the appointment of four members of the Accounts Chamber. For example, the candidacies of Kirill Klimanok and Olga Pishchanskaya were supported by 164 and 170 “servants”, respectively. And during the signal vote for the appointment of Pishchanskaya as head of the Accounts Chamber, 176 “servants” pressed the “for” button.
The problem with the lack of votes was recognized by the chairman of the Servant of the People party, people's deputy Elena Shulyak. In a conversation with the “Commander in Chief”, the politician confirmed: there are a stable 180-190 votes from the “servants”. They are mobilized as best they can by faction leader David Arakhamia and his deputies.
It is quite obvious that such a slippery situation is pushing Bankova and Arakhamia to non-standard solutions. Those that would prevent failure at the decisive moment, when parliamentary support is urgently needed. Such a critical moment, for example, could be a change of government...
Closer to the New Year, the leader of the “servants” in the Verkhovna Rada, David Arakhamia, registered an interesting bill. He would have to change the law on the Cabinet of Ministers specifically in terms of dismissal and appointment of its members. However, for unknown reasons, the intentions of the influential legislator changed dramatically, and the explanatory note and comparative table for the bill disappeared from the parliament website. “The project has been withdrawn,” a short message appeared.
Note: all this strange magic happened during December 29-30.
The “Commander-in-Chief” closely followed these events and we managed to get acquainted with the ideas that Arakhamia proposed, but immediately changed his mind...
Faction-coalition
According to the plan of the leader of the Servant of the People faction, the law on the Cabinet of Ministers should have enshrined the concept of “deputy faction acting as a coalition.” In fact, we are talking about expanding the rights of the pro-government Servant of the People, which since the fall of 2019 has had a mono-majority coalition without a formal need for partners.
According to Arakhamia's bill, the coalition faction should have the right to submit a candidate for the post of prime minister to the president. Such a proposal will be signed by the head of the faction or his first deputy or another authorized representative of the people's deputy from the parliamentary faction acting as a coalition. Now, according to the law, such a right is granted to “a coalition of parliamentary factions, which includes the majority of deputies from the constitutional composition of the Verkhovna Rada, that is, the representation must come on behalf of 226 deputies, which the Servant of the People no longer actually have.
The same principle should be followed when replacing members of the Cabinet of Ministers. The parliamentary faction, acting as a coalition, will submit potential candidates to the Prime Minister.
According to the plan of the leader of the Servant of the People faction, the law on the Cabinet of Ministers needs to enshrine the concept of “deputy faction acting as a coalition”
The explanatory note to Arakhamia’s bill states: Article 9 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine” does not yet clearly define the legal regulation on the submission by a coalition of parliamentary factions, as provided for in Article 83 of the Constitution, proposals for candidates to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
“Thus, although the Constitution of Ukraine provides for the powers of the parliamentary faction, acting as a coalition, to make appropriate proposals for the appointment of government members, the Law of Ukraine “On the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine” does not yet have clear regulation of the relevant procedure. Although the issue of the lack of clear regulation of the above procedure for appointing government members was not previously raised. Its relevance has increased in the context of the beginning of the functioning of the parliamentary faction in 2019, which has the rights of a coalition of deputy factions in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, provided for by the Constitution of Ukraine,” the explanatory note said.
During the four years of the Verkhovna Rada of the 9th convocation, the issue of the lack of clear regulation of the procedure for appointing government members was not raised, David Arakhamia admitted
In a conversation with an influential parliamentarian from the Servant of the People, the “Commander-in-Chief” learned what could be behind Arakhamia’s bill: “We wanted to recall some ministers and appoint new ones. And so that the opposition does not shout that there is no mono-majority, this bill was supposed to become a kind of reinsurance. But something went wrong."
Unity Government: Mission Impossible?
The “Commander in Chief” talked with people’s representatives from other parliamentary forces regarding the idea of David Arakhamia. According to People's Deputy from the "Voice" faction Yulia Klimenko, the proposed changes are not dramatic. Because “up until now, give or take, that’s how it worked.”
“The appearance of such a bill cannot be considered a greater subjectification of the mono-majority, because the presentation was made by Mr. Arakhamia, who is a member of the close presidential circle. Therefore, this bill certainly could not have arisen without the approval of the Office of the President. They just want, as in the case of the mobilization bill, which was written by the Ministry of Defense and the President’s Office, to shift responsibility to the deputies. This is a very dangerous game - many presidents have played it and it did not end well,” the Voice representative noted.
At the same time, Klimenko expressed the opinion that a change in the government and its head is long overdue. “It doesn’t matter when it takes place - tomorrow or in three months, but it seems to me that there will be no fresh international money for Ukraine without a change of government,” the parliamentarian believes.
Note that rumors about Shmygal’s resignation are a long-standing and regular phenomenon. However, the current prime minister is completing his fourth year in office. And this is a record for Ukrainian heads of government. It must be admitted that the ministers of his government are actively rotated. By the way, last year two “old-timer” ministers resigned their positions: Alexander Tkachenko (Ministry of Culture) and Vadim Gutzeit (Ministry of Youth and Sports). The decision to remove ministers Tkachenko and Gutzeit was also given to the Servant of the People faction with enormous efforts - only 200 and 169 were in favor, respectively. Bankova had to collect the rest of her votes on the side.
People's Deputy from the European Solidarity faction Oleg Sinyutka is convinced that Arakhamia's bill was aimed at ensuring that the mono-majority would further strengthen its position. “It’s a shame I’ve already thought: doesn’t Mr. Arakhamia want to change the Prime Minister or members of the government without the Verkhovna Rada, but only by the decision of his faction? In my opinion, such a bill is harmful because it will give rise to discussions in society regarding authoritarianism,” the politician said.
According to the chosen one, since the beginning of the Russian invasion, no consultations have been held between the current government and representatives of political parties in parliament on the subject of reformatting the government.
At the same time, Sinyutka admitted that replacing one official with another will change practically nothing.
“The state budget for 2024 does not provide answers to the financial challenges that exist in the state. Therefore, parliament must ultimately stop being an appendage to the Office of the President and begin solving pressing problems. First of all, to approve a government of national unity led by professional people who would inspire confidence in society and the military,” the representative of European Solidarity emphasized.
By the way, on December 19, at the final press conference, President Vladimir Zelensky was asked what he thought about uniting the political elites and creating a government of unity, which would include professional technocrats. “Today we are reducing the expenses of officials as much as possible. I'm working to make the government even smaller. But if there are no people there at all, it will be difficult for us to govern the state,” answered the head of state.
