“Changing the government during wartime without a new economic strategy makes no practical sense,” said Novak
27 July 21:16
YOUTUBE
Changing the composition of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine during a full-scale war has no economic justification unless it is accompanied by a new national development strategy and an economic program. Andriy Novak, chairman of the Committee of Economists of Ukraine, expressed this view in an interview with the YouTube channel "Komersant Ukrainian".
According to the economist, there must be compelling administrative or political reasons for a government reshuffle; however, in his view, the current reshuffle lacked such grounds.
“There were no serious grounds for it, whether due to any failed decisions by any government officials, let alone the prime minister. There was no political crisis in parliament where government legislative initiatives were being blocked. I see no organizational, managerial, or political grounds on which it would be necessary to change the government now, during the active phase of the war,” he says.
Novak emphasized that any change in leadership inevitably slows down the work of the state apparatus, since newly appointed officials need time to get up to speed, build a team, and establish effective management.
“A new person in a new position needs at least a month or two to understand their responsibilities, reshuffle their staff, and get up to speed. Can we afford, right now, during the war, the luxury of slowing down the government system?” he added.
The economist noted that after the new government was formed, he expected to see a new economic strategy, but, according to him, this did not happen.
“I was curious to see what the new prime minister would propose. But after his speech in parliament, I didn’t hear the word ‘strategy,’ nor did I hear the phrase ‘economic policy.’ After that, everything became clear to me,” the expert says.
According to Novak, without a clear action plan, it is impossible to either objectively assess the government’s performance or predict the outcomes of its future decisions.
“We’ve simply swapped out the people in office without any conceptual or strategic changes, particularly in economic policy. This raises the question: what was the point of this change? If it was for the sake of a qualitatively new program, that would be understandable. But if there is no program, then during wartime such a change seems incomprehensible,” he believes.
At the same time, the economist noted that the previous government had not been in office long enough to allow for a full assessment of its performance.
“A year isn’t even enough time to implement systemic strategic decisions. But the problem is also that neither the previous government nor the current one has presented the public with a comprehensive program of action. And without a program, there is no basis on which to analyze performance or assign ratings,” Novak concluded.
As a reminder, on July 14, 2026, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine voted to dismiss the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, headed by Yulia Svyrydenko.
On July 16, the Rada voted to appoint Serhiy Koretsky as prime minister. Prior to this, he served as CEO of Naftogaz of Ukraine.
A total of 289 members of parliament voted in favor of his nomination.
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