"De facto, there is no mono-majority": MPs explain why Fedorov and Shmyhal were not appointed
Illustrative photo: Depositphotos

On January 13, the Verkhovna Rada failed to appoint Denys Shmyhal as the new first deputy prime minister – minister of Energy and put the candidate to a vote Mykhailo Fedorov for the post of head of the Ministry of Defense. Commenting on this, a member of the Servant of the people anonymously confirmed LIGA.net that there is no actual mono-majority. At the same time, his colleague from the SN Mykyta Poturaev said the situation was caused by a technical problem.

"I got the impression that not all people returned to the hall after this very long break. In fact, it was more of a technical glitch. And I'm not sure that everyone understood exactly that the vote would take place today," he explained.

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According to Poturayev, the original plan was to approve the dismissal of officials on January 13, and appointments the next day.

The MP added that he believes that some MPs think the plan is still valid. Therefore, Poturaiev believes that the failure of these votes was more of a technical issue.

At the same time, another member of the faction anonymously said LIGA.net: "I personally told my colleagues that there was a risk that exactly what we are seeing now would happen. Why did I think so? Because, as you know, there is a great desire of certain factions to get our faction to form a coalition. And here it is not so important whether it is unity or not, but a coalition."

He added that he had told his colleagues about the risk that MPs would vote to dismiss ministers but not to appoint them.

"In this way, we may be pushed to take certain steps," the MP said.

He confirmed that in this way the SN is being demanded to make some appointments. The MP claims that this is done by the faction "Batkivshchyna".

When asked what exactly the political party was asking for, he replied: "I don't know. But it is clear that it is about creating a coalition government in which representatives receive portfolios that are of interest to them. When I looked at the voting pattern, I believe that my prediction was fully justified. I told my colleagues about it last week."

When asked whether the government would agree to Batkivshchyna's conditions, he said he did not know, noting that this was "a rather permanent crisis."

LIGA.net has sent a request for comment to the political party and will publish it as soon as it is received.

REFERENCE.
Not a single MP from Batkivshchyna voted for the decision on Shmygalya, and with respect to Fedorova. However, the situation with factions is the same European solidarity and Voice. The "servants" themselves gave only 153 and 151 votes out of 229, respectively, which they formally have.

At the same time, another member of the SN anonymously stated LIGA.netthe MPs allegedly associated with the businessman did not vote for these decisions Ilya Pavlyuk. The interviewee also noted that "poor turnout/discipline/organization" influenced the voting.

The first of the above-mentioned MPs from the "servants" also confirmed LIGA.nethe said that the mono-majority does not exist now: "De facto, of course. De jure it exists, de facto it does not."

The source also added that Fedorov's appointment will be voted on on January 14, as his candidacy was submitted by the president Volodymyr Zelenskyyand this submission remains valid.

However, he noted that the situation with the future minister of Energy is different: "Shmyhal needs to be re-nominated from our faction: to gather the faction, to resubmit the candidacy (according to the Constitution, the ruling majority makes proposals for candidates for ministerial positions – Ed.)

Meanwhile, Solomiya Bobrovska, a member of the Voice party, noted LIGA.net that Shmyhal has had "a million claims" since he was prime minister.

"[He] tolerated Halushchenko. And all that mess and corruption," she says.

  • Some parliamentarians in communication with LIGA.net opposed President Zelensky's initiative to replace Shmyhal with Fedorov
  • Kostenko, a member of the Defense Committee, said that Fedorov's appointment as defense minister means the arrival of a new team and the search for new reforms, and during a full-scale war is a risk.
  • One of the former deputy defense ministers said that after being appointed defense minister, Fedorov can be redirected into constructive conflict between the agency and the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
  • MP Sovsun from the relevant committee said LIGA.netthe committee's head, Gerus, said that Shmyhal's appointment to the Energy Ministry was a step of desperation, as many potential candidates had refused the post. At the same time, the head of the committee, Gerus, noted that Shmyhal has sufficient qualifications in this area.