We need a Government of National Salvation or a Government of National Unity: expert opinion of Anatoly Boyk
It is already obvious that one of the main issues arising in Ukrainian and world society after May 20 is the legitimacy of the Ukrainian government. The whole civilized world has ignored the issue of re-elections in Russia, but, undoubtedly, the attempt of the Russian Federation to raise the issue of the illegitimacy of the Ukrainian government will affect the status of Ukraine in the international arena.
Anatoliy Boyko, a well-known Ukrainian public figure, who has been the head of the regional organization of the Committees of Voters of Ukraine for more than twenty years, expressed his opinion on solving this problem in an exclusive interview with IA “FACT”. Both KVU and Anatoly Boyko personally are well known in Ukraine and have a very high level of trust.
Mr. Anatoly, how, in your opinion, can the problem of the legitimacy of the government in Ukraine be quickly resolved after May 20 during the war, and at the same time restart it?
“On the one hand, there is indeed a legal problem regarding the legitimacy of President Zelensky after May 20. There are different views on this issue of legitimacy. It would be best, of course, if the president had turned to the Constitutional Court a year ago. During this time, the court would make a legitimate decision. I understand that then, firstly, there was an expectation of a successful offensive, and secondly, I think the President had no confidence in the decision of the Constitutional Court. There were fears among the President’s entourage that the Constitutional Court may decide on the transfer of power to the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada after May 20, 2024. And this, of course, did not suit President Zelenskyi’s team.
In general, they dragged, dragged, and now there is no time for that either. In addition, there is now an issue with the overall level of trust and rating of the President. The picture is not very favorable. On the other hand, it is impossible to hold adequate elections in a war situation, and even if they are held, the elections will look more like profanation than real elections. And, of course, cause even more indignation than simply terminating the powers of the President.
In my opinion, in this situation, the ideal solution would be the creation of a Government of National Salvation or a Government of National Unity – a government that unites the main political forces of society to solve the problems posed to Ukraine by Russia’s aggression. The creation of this government solves two tasks at the same time: first, it will allow the President to share responsibility for what is happening in the country with all parliamentary political parties, with the exception, of course, of the pro-Russian ones. Well, something similar to what was done in Israel: the country is in danger and it is necessary to unite to repel the aggressor. And the President, of course, invites all the main political players to unite before Russia’s aggression.
Secondly, it makes it possible to share responsibility and significantly strengthen the legitimacy of the supreme power in the country. We have a parliamentary-presidential republic, and such a step returns us to the structure of constitutional power that was originally established in it. A Government of National Unity is being created, which should include representatives of all political forces represented in the parliament, except for the pro-Russian ones, obviously.
It is necessary to clearly understand that the most important issue of the creation of this government is the scope of its powers. The current Cabinet of Ministers is not an independent government body, but a purely nominal one – everything is decided by the president’s office. This is the grossest violation of the Constitution. In the case of the creation of the Government of National Unity, it should receive real powers and be an independent and independent authority. The Government of National Unity must take real responsibility for what is happening in the country and, importantly, have the necessary powers to do so.
The government is approved by the Verkhovna Rada, as provided by the Constitution. There are no questions regarding the Verkhovna Rada – the Constitution clearly and clearly states that the Verkhovna Rada acts until a new member of the Verkhovna Rada is elected. The powers of the President remain as laid down in the Constitution: the Ministry of Defense and Foreign Affairs, and he remains a symbol of our struggle both in the country and abroad. At the same time, the issues of the legitimacy of the President’s activities are largely removed, since the executive power will be in the hands of the legitimate government created by the Verkhovna Rada. And the most important thing: society is waiting for a certain reset of the government, and such a decision could partially satisfy society.
The key issue in creating such a Government of National Unity is that it should have real powers. And that is why I think that the probability that the President’s team will take such a step is very small. But in a situation where Russia will now try to spread the thesis about the illegitimacy of President Zelensky, and real elections are impossible in our country during the war, this is one of the best ways out of the situation. I believe that this is the most realistic option for getting out of this constitutional impasse of legitimacy. This will allow, on the one hand, to remove the question of the legitimacy of presidential power, and on the other hand, to return to the Constitution and carry out a partial reset of power. Update the circle of people who make decisions. In my opinion, this is absolutely necessary.”
Unfortunately, the level of trust in our government is decreasing more and more. What is the cause of the systemic crisis in Ukraine?
“Yes, I agree with those who say that voters trust the Verkhovna Rada even less than the President. And here we must understand that we have no good options left. In my opinion, this option is the best: on the one hand, it defeats the Kremlin’s arguments about the illegitimacy of the Ukrainian government, on the other hand, it allows us to avoid the two extremes between another Maidan or elections during the war. The situation in the country is quite explosive. This is one moment.
On the other hand, the Verkhovna Rada always has a lower level of voters’ trust in itself than in the president. But the most important thing is that no one says that Poroshenko, Tymoshenko and so on should be part of the Government of National Unity – those people who sit in the Verkhovna Rada. It is not necessary. The main thing is that those who enter the Government should be delegated by the parties represented in the Verkhovna Rada. And it is important that the Verkhovna Rada votes for them. And the government can be completely technocratic. These can be people who are completely unrelated to politics and, even, to the Verkhovna Rada.
The main reason for the systemic crisis in the country, in my opinion, is that now we have only one center of power, and it is exclusively monopolistic. And no one else’s opinion matters there. And the procedure for making and adopting decisions has nothing to do with the Constitution: in fact, all decisions are now made in the President’s office. According to the Constitution, we are a parliamentary-presidential republic, not a presidential-parliamentary one, and all decisions must be made according to a completely different procedure. Not only that, we have not just a presidential-parliamentary republic, we actually have a super-presidential republic. The creation of a coalition Government of National Unity would make it possible to diversify decision-making, so that the actions of the government would be more balanced.
Such a government of National Unity can include people delegated by parties that have public support and public trust. For example, I would like to see Taras Chmut, head of the “Return Alive” Foundation, as the Minister of Defense. I have known Taras for many years, from the public network “Opora”. A person has proven and confirmed in practice over all these years that he is worried, cheers for the cause and has a system. He sees how to build the country’s defense capability. I am talking about such people, but he is not a member of the Verkhovna Rada. First of all, I mean just such people.
Well, the third aspect of this decision is that regardless of the level of trust in Ukraine in the Verkhovna Rada, legally it is still legitimate, which removes all grounds for Kremlin propaganda about the illegitimacy of the President and the Government of Ukraine. Of course, there may still be a discussion about the legitimacy of the President, but this will be of secondary importance, since the center of power – the Government of National Unity will be absolutely legitimate.”
Leonid Shtekel
