Honcharuk to be nominated for Ukraine prime minister, media report

Oleksiy Honcharuk, a 35-year-old lawyer who has held
no high-ranking state post, will be nominated by President Zelensky for prime
minister, the pravda.com.ua news site reported today, citing anonymous sources.
Honcharuk spent his career as a lawyer, becoming lead partner in a firm
specializing in real estate development. He also served as an adviser to Stepan
Kubiv, the first deputy prime minister during the Poroshenko administration.
Honcharuk’s candidacy was backed by Ihor Kolomoisky, a billionaire and main
sponsor of Zelensky’s presidential campaign.

The President’s Office will conduct interviews on Aug.
28 among candidates for the remaining Cabinet positions. “This is not some
distrust in Zelensky, but the understanding that – in one way or another – the
activity of any minister will influence the president’s reputation and he will
be responsible. That’s how the public perceives it,” said an anonymous source.
The current finance minister, Oksana Markarova, is among three candidates being
considered for finance minister, Zelensky told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
on Aug. 24.

The new Cabinet of Ministers won’t be formed on the
day of the first session of Ukraine’s parliament on Aug. 29, said Dmytro
Razumkov, the likely next speaker of parliament, as reported by the
Interfax-Ukraine news agency. The parliamentary coalition agreement will be
signed that day, with the Cabinet to be formed soon after, he said.

Zenon Zawada: The news
media that is skeptical of Zelensky will likely introduce the narrative that
the president’s team is doing all the decision-making, with the parliamentary
faction members and Cabinet appointees merely acting as rubber stamps. Much of
the legislation to be voted on is being drafted within the president’s team.
Time will tell whether the Zelensky team will extend that model, or give these
neophytes more authority. But appointing someone as inexperienced as Honcharuk
indicates Zelensky wants a convenient prime minister who won’t overshadow him.

The new Cabinet of Ministers, including the prime
minister, should be known by Friday, Aug. 30, if not approved by parliament by
then. Markarova is likely to remain as finance minister. If Internal Affairs
Minister Arsen Avakov remains in his post, that decision will confirm
Kolomoisky’s strong influence on Zelensky.