Avakov should remain in Cabinet, Kolomoisky says

Internal Affairs
Minister Arsen Avakov should remain in the Cabinet after the new parliament is
formed this year, oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky told the bihus.info news site in an
interview published on May 7. Kolomoisky referred to Avakov as the only worthy
minister in the current Cabinet. “I believe this is the most successful,
professional minister for the last five years and the least scandalous,” he said. “He is
practically not scandalous, and he engaged in reforms that work, more or less.”

Zenon Zawada: To claim that Avakov hasn’t had any scandals is quite strange. Kolomoisky’s support for Avakov is
strictly political as has been the main counterbalance to Poroshenko throughout
his presidency. Avakov also tacitly
supported the
president’s rivals during the elections, Yulia Tymoshenko and Volodymyr
Zelenskiy, who also had Kolomoisky’s backing. In light of this, we are
confident that President-elect Volodymyr Zelenskiy, at minimum, won’t be able
to make any decisions that go against Kolomoisky’s interests. At best, we can
expect Zelenskiy to allow state bodies, particularly the courts, to make
independent decisions on Kolomoisky’s activities and the fate of his assets.

In order to remain
in the Cabinet, Avakov will have to compete in the October parliamentary
elections with a political party. The People’s Front, with which he was elected
as an MP in 2014, has no chances of returning. It’s doubtful Avakov will join
Zelenskiy’s party. Not only doesn’t he fit its youthful image, but he stands to
overshadow the president himself. He might decide to compete in Tymoshenko’s
Fatherland party, which is almost certain to qualify.

It’s also worth noting that Zelenskiy’s election has raised Kolomoisky’s
public profile in Ukraine and rehabilitated his poor image, to some extent.
Kolomoisky is now regarded as a political authority whose opinions are being
broadcast by the mass media and considered by the establishment. So his
investment in Zelenskiy is already paying dividends.