New Ukrainian cabinet raises fears of slowing reform

Subject

Ukraine's reshuffle.

Significance

A new cabinet was unveiled on March 4 after the resignation of Prime Minister Olexiy Honcharuk. The reshuffle was carried out in a hurry with no obvious reason for such haste. Honcharuk's team is being blamed for some problems that long pre-date its five-month tenure. President Volodymyr Zelensky may be seeking to shore up his formerly sky-high popularity ratings, which fell below 50% in early February.

Impacts

• The dismissal of Prosecutor General Ruslan Ryaboshabka will add to concerns about the commitment to fight corruption.
• The government reshuffle has more implications for the economy than for the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
• Zelensky has tried to get a land reform passed; he may be less keen if it is liable to reduce his popularity.
• The reshuffle may be a sacrifice made to maintain disparate loyalties in Zelensky's Servant of the People party.
• A further fall in inflation would let the central bank keep cutting interest rates.