Eurotopics: Did Ukraine Need a New Foreign Minister?

In a major government reshuffle in Ukraine, around half of the cabinet has been replaced. The foreign minister is now Andrii Sybiha, who previously served as deputy to his predecessor Dmytro Kuleba. Europe's press observes - with both understanding and concern - a concentration of power in a country that has been defending itself against Russia for two and a half years.

Power shift prompted by war

The centralisation of power resulting from the war is now complete, Jutarnji list (Croatia) concludes:

“Is this a crisis, as the Russian regime media are reporting? In other circumstances it would be, but here one can say that after two and a half years of war the 'centralisation' of power in the hands of President Zelensky and his office under the control of powerful Andria Yermak, the real 'second man of Ukraine', has been completed. ... The aim of the government reshuffle was to turn the government into the extended arm of the presidential office, because people from the president's inner circle have now taken over the administrative functions.”

Circle of power should not be too small

The circle around Zelensky is getting ever smaller, The Guardian (United Kingdom) comments:

“National crises put leaders to the fore, but perhaps no other individual could have galvanised the domestic and international response as he did. Some concentration of powers is inevitable in wartime, but he also seems most comfortable running everything from a small team, as he did in his television days. … Leaders under intense pressure are understandably prone to relying on trusted aides and allies. But people want to be confident that internal talent is being fully used when their country is faced with an immense, existential threat.”

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Clearly not about incompetence

Mladá fronta Dnes (Czech Republic) tries to make sense of why Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba was replaced:

“Allegedly, he didn't have the energy to procure the weapons that Ukraine needs. But unless the new head diplomat has factories to produce munition, tanks, fighter jets, missiles, drones or air defence systems, he will presumably be no better at procuring weapons than his predecessor. People can say what they like about the more than capable Kuleba, but it is absurd to assume that the Americans and other allies would have agreed with Kyiv to send more weapons to Ukraine on the condition that he was replaced. So this cannot be about Kuleba's incompetence, but is much more likely to be about tensions between him and the president.”

Preserve democracy

Commenting in Népszava (Hungary), author Mária Gál voices concern about the departure of the foreign minister:

“There are various rumours circulating about the real reasons for Dmytro Kuleba's removal, but none of them explain why the president has replaced one of Ukraine's best-known and most respected government figures with an unknown person. ... The war explains many things, but not everything. I feel reminded of the words of [Kyiv mayor] Vitali Klitschko, who once said in an interview: 'At some point we will no longer be any different from Russia, where everything depends on the whims of one man'.”

No new faces

Hardly anyone will notice the changes, notes BBC News Ukraine:

“It's hard to name any country in the world in which the simultaneous replacement of nearly half of the cabinet would not be a sign of major political crisis or at least cause major political upheaval. Today's Ukraine, however, proves that the impossible is possible. And that a cabinet shake-up on this scale will hardly result in fundamental changes in state life and go practically unnoticed by the majority of the population. ... A change of personnel within the system: for better or worse, not a single person from outside the existing pool of staff has been assigned a government post.”

No place for doubters

Zelensky doesn't like to be contradicted, Corriere della Sera (Italy) surmises:

“'It’s autumn, the leaves are falling,' Maria Zakharova has commented with delight. The spokeswoman of the Moscow Foreign Ministry sees the massive reshuffles in the Ukrainian government as a sign of weakness. ... But Zakharova may be mistaken. The removal of four ministers, two undersecretaries and just as many brigadier generals shortens the chain of command, speeds up decision-making and facilitates the war effort. President Volodymyr Zelensky also strengthens his role as sole commander. And with him in command, there's no doubt that the hard line vis-à-vis Russia will continue. Those who have doubts and might be tempted to negotiate a compromise must leave the stage.”

Typical wear and tear in times of war

For the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (Switzerland), the reshuffle was only to be expected:

“President Zelensky postponed personnel changes after the Russian invasion in order to send a signal of stability. But every government shows signs of wear and tear at some point, especially under the pressure of war. Zelensky cultivates a very different style of leadership to his opponent Putin in the Kremlin, who, for fear of change, keeps many of his loyal supporters in the same post until they are old, often for more than a decade.”

Ministers have no decision-making power right now

Unfortunately, under the current circumstances, who has which ministerial portfolio is of secondary importance, journalist Valerii Pekar (Ukraine) points out on Facebook:

“The government's problem is not the ministers. There are many strong and committed experts among them. The government's problem is that it is not the decision-making centre, as it should be under the constitution. As long as crucial decisions are made elsewhere, the government plays only a secondary role. If ministers are merely subordinate project managers rather than the key people responsible to parliament and the population for the development and implementation of government policy in their area of responsibility, it doesn't really matter what their name is.”

Reprinted from Eurotopics. You can find the original here.