You're reading: Abromavicius calls for replacing prosecutor general, forming technocratic government chaired by Jaresko

The political crisis in Ukraine should be used to reboot the government and form the Cabinet of technocrats alone, who will be guaranteed independence and support of the coalition, Economic Development and Trade Minister Aivaras Abromavicius, who resigned citing pressure on him, said in an interview with the Associate Press.

Abromavicius said that only technocratic government could bring about greater progress and higher life standards subject to guarantees from the president and the coalition. He also said that he had suggested Finance Minister Naltalie Jaresko for the premiership provided that she could select ministers freely.

In the view of Abromavicius, deputy ministers and higher rank officials should be appointed only from among those who were not in government before the protests on Maidan.

With this respect, he urged to use the situation as a reboot and appoint a new prosecutor general. Besides, he advocated that Ihor Kononenko, one of the leaders of the Petro Poroshenko Block and a long time business partner of the president, should withdraw from politics.

What is more, Abromavicius said a major reform of the Cabinet was needed. The Cabinet’s secretariat is boycotting and sabotaging ministerial initiatives; it actually serves as a parallel structure to the ministries, Abromavicius said, urging to replace it with premier’s office of 30 to 50 staff members.

The resigned minister also said the Cabinet was ineffective due to numerous minor issues brought on its agenda, and also as a consequence of no clear division of power with the presidential administration.

Abromavicius said that during a meeting with the premier and ministers on February 4 they all recognized the current situation was a wake-up call and a chance for serious systemic changes. “Everyone’s agreed it’s a great opportunity now when the cold shower was basically given to really demand some things from top political elites in order to accelerate the reform,” Abromavicius said.

He said that a list of suggestions and requests to the parliament and the president was discussed. In particular, the initiatives concerned the increased transparency, registration of meetings and phone calls, so that MPs could not intervene into the work of the parliament, couldn’t lobby their interests; transparency of business structures, and other issues.

Abromavicius said that the list was not exhaustive and there were no guarantees that the measures mentioned on it would be implemented. He also said he would not withdraw his resignation as he didn’t believe that the actual steps would be taken.

He stressed that the reboot needed support of the president and the premier, who were in control of the two largest factions in the parliament and the coalition.