Parliament sets Zelenskiy inauguration for Monday, May 20

Ukraine’s parliament
voted on May 16 to hold the inauguration of President-elect Volodymyr Zelenskiy
on the morning of Monday, May 20. His adviser, Dmytro Razumkov, criticized the
decision, arguing it was a backhanded slap to hold the inauguration on Monday,
when it will be difficult for foreign delegations to attend, instead of
Zelenskiy’s proposed date of Sunday, May 19, as reported the Interfax-Ukraine
news agency.

Speaking at Concorde
Capital’s “Game of Thrones: Final Season?” conference in Kyiv on May 16, Alex
Danylyuk, among Zelenskiy’s key advisers, said the president-elect’s priorities
will be improving economic conditions, building the credibility of the
institution of the presidency, dealing with corruption, relaunching
anti-corruption institutions built in the last four years (the Agency for Corruption Prevention), launching the High Anti-Corruption
Court and reintroducing the legislation for punishing illicit enrichment.

As Zelenskiy’s first
steps, the Ukrainian public wants him to submit legislation to remove immunity
from MPs, judges and the president (53.7% in favor), begin negotiations
involving both Russia and the breakaway republics to end the war and return
Donbas (40.9%), and to arrange the return of Ukrainian war and political
prisoners in Russia (38.4%), according to a poll conducted between Apr. 30 and
May 10 involving 3,000 respondents arranged by the Social Monitoring Center,
the Yaremenko Ukrainian Institute for Social Research and the Rating
Sociological Group.

Zenon Zawada: It’s more realistic for Zelenskiy
to fulfill Danylyuk’s list of priorities than what the public wants during his
first months. Among these priorities, the most realistic are making his key
appointments, supporting the launch of anti-corruption agencies and submitting
key anti-corruption legislation. Removing the immunity of top officials won’t
be easy. We expect no success in resolving the war in Donbas this year, or even
getting prisoners released. Many in power are resentful of Zelenskiy and making
his job as hard as possible, particularly Russian President Putin.