Ukraine should adjust wages, pensions for inflation, president says

The Ukrainian government should adjust wages and pensions for inflation by the year end, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko told a television interview broadcast on July 25. “I am absolutely convinced that people should be feeling the first results of reform,” Poroshenko said. “Yes, we need to avoid excessive populism. But by the year end, we should adjust wages and pensions for inflation and not allow a decline in living standards.”

Zenon Zawada: Poroshenko rails against populism, but he’s guilty of the offense with this very statement. The finance minister has already said adjusting wages and pensions for inflation won’t be possible this year. Just how he’ll get the finances for this adjustment without the support of the Cabinet (or the necessary funds) is unclear.

Poroshenko is often criticized for his broken promises (what politician isn’t?), but it’s striking how he couches his populist statements with what the government “should, ought and may” be doing. In this sense, he’s tactfully avoiding promises yet capitalizing on the positive emotions that he evokes among the public with his oft-hollow statements.

The longer the government fails to adjust wages and pensions for inflation, the less patient the Ukrainian public will be with the war. It’s one thing to suffer military attack, but that becomes an even harsher burden with economic misery. We see such conditions leading to a political crisis.