Ukraine’s Possible Prime Minister: No Experience, a Fine Figurehead

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will suggest Oleksiy Honcharuk as Ukraine’s next Prime Minister to the Ukrainian Parliament, according to Ukrainian online newspaper Ukrayinska Pravda.

On August 28^th, Zelensky and his office will conduct interviews and consultations on nominations of other members of the government.

“This is not some kind of distrust of Honcharuk, but the understanding that the activities of any minister will somehow affect the president’s reputation and he is responsible. That is how society perceives this,” the newspaper’s anonymous source said.

Honcharuk now holds the post of deputy head of the President’s Office. He has a law degree, worked as a managing partner in one of the law firms.

This spring, Monobank co-founder Dmytro Dubilet introduced Honcharuk to Head of the President’s Office of Ukraine Andriy Bohdan, who later brought him to the Presidential Administration. According to the source, they have a good relationship and he listens carefully to his superior, which is possibly exactly what Zelensky’s team is looking for – a subordinate Prime Minister.

Who is Alexey Honcharuk?

Alexey Honcharuk is 35 years old. He was born in the Chernihiv region, where he received a law degree. In parallel with his studies, he worked as a lawyer at a local factory, then as a lawyer in the investment company PRIOR-Invest.

Then he received a lawyer’s certificate and became the managing partner of Constructive Lawyers. He specialized in supporting investment projects in construction.

In the 2014 General Elections after the first Maidan Coup, he led the list of the Strength of People party, but it did not pass, gaining only 0.1%.

In 2015, Honcharuk became a freelance adviser to the Minister of Ecology Igor Shevchenko, whom he had known for several years – he dealt with issues of the State Service of Geology and Mineral Resources.

After Shevchenko was dismissed due to a corruption scandal, Honcharuk headed the Office of Effective Regulation.

Honcharuk himself was an assistant to the Minister of Economics, First Deputy Prime Minister of Kubiv (he was also called the “government watchman” by Former President Petro Poroshenko).

Apparently, during the election, Oleksiy Honcharuk supported ex-president Poroshenko. Taking part in the flash mob “Dyakuyu!” in support of Poroshenko after his loss.

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Around the elections, when asked who he plans to cooperate with – Vladimir Zelensky or Petro Poroshenko – Honcharuk answered that he did not understand who Zelensky was, and Poroshenko was closer to him.

“We don’t understand who Zelensky is, it’s incredibly difficult to position him. We are well aware of Poroshenko, so there are some things in which he will definitely be our ally, it’s European integration and some understandable things, and he will be that he has a certain historical background, to drown for them…”, said Honcharuk.

“If you explain to me who Zelensky is, I’ll tell you how I feel about him,” he responded.

It turns out that he understood everything about Zelensky approximately a month later, after he began working in the Presidential administration under him.

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Essentially, Honcharuk has these two qualities that make him a perfect placeholder Prime Minister:

1. He has practically no experience in managing large systems, and therefore he will be largely controlled by the Office of the President and will not show undue independence;
2. He is a way to connect to the “EU grant” party and is closer to Western establishment, which, according to the idea, should facilitate communication between the government and the USA, the EU and international financial organizations.

Other names that would take other Ministerial posts are largely unclear as of yet, but rumors and reports show that the people who are deemed likely have no political will or willingness to change anything from the status quo that was established under Petro Poroshenko.

For example, the appointment of the current head of the National Health Service Oleh Petrenko to the Ministry of Health will mean the continuation of the “reforms” that ruined domestic medicine. The only difference is the lack of Facebook popularity.

Oksana Markarova would reportedly remain as the Finance Minister. From the same party, Aliona Babak is cited as possible Minister of Regional Development. The well-known “promoter” of the reforms from the Poroshenko government Timofey Milovanov will become the Minister of Economy.

It is becoming painfully apparent that the task of the first government under Zelensky is not professional work, but professional PR, which should slow down the inevitable decline in the rating of the president and his “servants.” But in the end, this government is likely to become a sort of sacrifice to further stoke Zelensky’s ratings.

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