The first Azarov government (, Russian: Первое правительство Николая Азарова) was Ukraine's cabinet from its appointment on March 11, 2010 until its dissolution on December 3, 2012. It continued to serve as a caretaker governmentYanukovych dismisses Azarov and Cabinet of Ministers, Kyiv Post (3 December 2012)Ukraine government resigns, stays on in acting role, Kyiv Post (3 December 2012) until 24 December 2012, when the second Azarov government was appointed by president Viktor Yanukovych.President of Ukraine has appointed new staff of the cabinet of ministers of Ukraine , Ukrainian Independent Information Agency (24 December 2012)
The cabinet was formed as part of the "Stability and Reform" coalition between the Party of Regions, Lytvyn Bloc and the Communist Party of Ukraine in the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament. The government was led by prime minister Mykola Azarov, who succeeded the ousted second Tymoshenko government led by ex-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko. The Azarov government worked in cooperation with President Yanukovych.
A November 2010 Razumkov Centre nationwide survey showed that only 13.2 percent of respondents fully supported the Azarov Government while 45 percent stated they did not.Yanukovych to slim ranks of government, Kyiv Post (December 16, 2010)
Its composition was reshuffled by Yanukovych early in 2012.Khoroshkovsky promoted yet again, becomes first deputy prime minister, Kyiv Post (24 February 2012)
Creation and parliamentary issues
Termination On December 3, 2012, the government became a caretaker government after Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich accepted the resignation of prime minister Mykola Azarov and his government following the 28 October 2012 parliamentary election. A number of government members, including Prime Minister Azarov, were elected to parliament in that election. In order to get these parliamentary mandates they were obliged to submit documents on the dismissal from their previous job to the Central Election Commission within 20 days after the election (by December 3).Baloha posts his resignation as emergencies minister on Facebook, Kyiv Post (27 November 2012)
On 9 December 2012, Yanukovych nominated Azarov for a new term as prime minister.Yanukovych picks Azarov for new term as prime minister (updated), Kyiv Post (9 December 2012) This nomination was approved by parliament on 13 December 2012.Ukraine parliament approves Azarov as prime minister, Reuters (13 December 2012) On 24 December 2012, the second Azarov government was appointed by President Yanukovych.
In January 2013, President Yanukovych stated the government "has not completely fulfilled the assigned tasks on ensuring the introduction of reform and economic growth. This led to the fact that the results in 2012 were much worse than expected".Yanukovych said previous government failed to introduce reform and ensure economic growth, Kyiv Post (3 January 2013)
Controversy and criticism Azarov's immediate predecessor Yulia Tymoshenko stated on the day the cabinet was elected "this government is completely made up of Ukrainian oligarchs"; she predicted the cabinet actions would lead to "megacorruption, the closure of strategic state programs, pressure on small and middle business and a return to stagnation and the absence of any reforms".Tymoshenko: 'Major ideologists' of RosUkrEnergo at key posts in new government, Kyiv Post (March 11, 2010)
According to a February 2010 poll by the Kyiv Gorshenin Institute of Management Issues most Ukrainians wanted not a politician for prime minister but "a professional premier, who will implement unpopular reforms".Most Ukrainians do not want politician for prime minister, Kyiv Post (March 1, 2010)
Ukraine's state budget for 2010 was adopted by parliament after a ten-minute-long hearing of the bill which consisted of a report by the finance minister and the head of the parliament's budget committee.Our Ukraine-People's Self Defense wants parliament to immediately review 2010 state budget, Kyiv Post (May 11, 2010) The Verkhovna Rada 2010 budget was not presented at a parliament meeting, but approved on May 14, 2010.Coalition adopts parliament's budget for this year, opposition not aware, Kyiv Post (May 14, 2010)Verkhovna Rada approved its budget 2010, Ukrainian Independent Information Agency (May 14, 2010)
Constitutional Court ruling According to former president Victor Yushchenko the March 9, 2010 parliamentary amendment that made it possible for individual members of a parliamentary faction to join a coalition violated the Ukrainian Constitution,Yushchenko: Decision to sanction coalition based on individual lawmakers unconstitutional, Kyiv Post (March 9, 2010) former Minister of Internal Affairs Yuriy Lutsenko accused Yanukovych of "trying to buy members of parliament for a new coalition"Lutsenko: Yanukovych team trying to 'buy members of parliament' for new coalition, Kyiv Post (March 9, 2010) (President Viktor Yanukovych accused Lutsenko of badly handling the affairs at the Ministry of Internal Affairs before appointing Anatolii Mohyliov to Lutsenko's old position.President presented a new staff to their departments Podrobnosti.ua March 11, 2010 (video-footage)) and Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc lawmaker Serhiy Mishchenko stated "that the Verkhovna Rada had shown to the average citizen a bad example of how to violate the country's laws and Constitution".Serhiy Mishchenko: parliament showed the public how to break laws , Official website of Yulia Tymoshenko (March 10, 2010) Yushchenko did send a letter to Yanukovych with a request to veto the law on March 10.Yushchenko calls for Yanukovych to veto amendments to law on parliament's regulations, Kyiv Post (March 10, 2010) Yanukovych signed the law nevertheless.Ukraine opposition challenges Yanukovych in court, Kyiv Post (March 12, 2010) 56 lawmakers filed a challenge to the law who made these amendments possible on March 11, 2010, at the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.Constitutional Court gets motion on constitutionality of parliament's rules of procedure, Kyiv Post (March 12, 2010) On March 16, 2010, Minister of Justice Oleksandr Lavrynovych stated that even if the Constitutional Court rules the amendments unconstitutional the format of the Ukrainian parliamentary coalition will remain unchanged because "the Constitutional Court's ruling becomes valid on the day of its announcement, not yesterday or the day before yesterday" and the Constitutional Court's ruling will apply only to measures intended to establish a new coalition in Ukraine in the future.Minister: Newly formed Ukrainian coalition will remain unchanged, Kyiv Post (March 16, 2010) On March 26, 2010, President Yanukovych told a delegation from the European Parliament "If the decision of the Constitutional Court will be that the coalition was formed illegally, then I will take a decision on a snap election, I will never go down the path of breaching the constitution that is in force".Yanukovych to call vote if coalition ruled illegal, Kyiv Post (March 1, 2010) The Constitutional Court reviewing the case late March 2010. On urgent matters the court rules within weeks but on matters deemed less urgent it can take months or even longer. On March 29, 2010, former premier and Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc leader Yulia Tymoshenko accused "Representatives of Yanukovych" of trying to bribe and blackmail Constitutional Court judges in order to get a ruling that legitimates the coalition and the government.Tymoshenko: Yanukovych entourage aims at recognizing legitimacy of coalition before president's trip to U.S., Kyiv Post (March 29, 2010) This was denied by Yanukovych's Party of Regions.Yanukovych allies: Tymoshenko trying to pressure court, Kyiv Post (March 30, 2010)
On April 8, 2010, the Constitutional Court ruled that the coalition supporting the Azarov government in parliament had been formed legally.Update: Ukraine court rules Yanukovych coalition legal, Kyiv Post (April 8, 2010) The shadow government called the Constitutional Court ruling "cynical, hypocritical, and illegal".Opposition calls unlawful court's ruling on legitimacy of new coalition's formation, Kyiv Post (April 8, 2010)
Corruption The Azarov government stated that it will fight corruption. However several of its members are assigned to two or more government positions, and, of course, are paid for them. That fact reflects direct disregard for the Constitution of Ukraine. Some of the members do not even qualify to the assigned positions either as in case with Valeriy Khoroshkovskiy who was elected to the Supreme Council of Justice.Team of Yanukovych: direct misconducts of the Law Some of the members of the government received their government assignments without a basic knowledge of the state language as in case with the Minister of Internal Affairs Mohyliov.TSN (July 1, 2010) The President Yanukovych gave him two months (until August 2010) to learn the language.
Opposition government formation On March 16, eight parliamentarian parties signed an application for the establishment of an association of opposing political forces to the ruling Azarov government.Tymoshenko counted over 175 opposition deputies in the Verkhovna Rada Among the eight opposition parties are All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland", Rukh, European Party of Ukraine, People's Self-Defense, Reforms and Order Party, Motherland Defenders Party, Christian-Democratic Union, and Ukrainian Social-Democratic Party. Tymoshenko immediately nominated a prime minister for the future opposition government (so called shadow government), while the leader of the European Party Mykola Katerynchuk suggests not to rush and consolidate all possible political forces in a single formed opposition government.Katerynchuk proposes to wait for Yatseniuk and Kyrylenko On March 31, 2010, all members of this government were named. It is headed by parliamentarian Serhiy Sobolev of Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko.Sobolev names members of Ukraine's opposition government, Kyiv Post (March 31, 2010) Its vice premier, Volodymyr Stretovych, was dismissed on 7 February 2011, because "he had finally taken the side of the government". Stretovych dismissed as vice premier of shadow government, Kyiv Post (February 7, 2010)
Arseniy Yatsenyuk formed another oppositional government in March 2010.Yatseniuk to introduce his oppositional government by end March, Kyiv Post (March 18, 2010)
On 8 August 2011 All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland", Rukh, European Party of Ukraine, People's Self-Defense, Reforms and Order Party, Motherland Defenders Party, Civil Position and Front for Change formed the Dictatorship Resistance Committee "to better coordinate our efforts".Dictatorship Resistance Committee to coordinate opposition parties in parliamentary elections, Kyiv Post (10 August 2011)Ukrainian opposition to create Dictatorship Resistance Committee after Tymoshenko's arrest, Kyiv Post (8 August 2011)Ukraine opposition alliance urges mass-scale public action against government, Kyiv Post (11 October 2011)
Composition
On March 11, 2010, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine approved the structure of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.VR approved structure of Cabinet of Ministers (update), Ukrainian Independent Information Agency (March 11, 2010) Note, Tihipko even though is a leader of the Strong Ukraine party, he was elected to Cabinet as unaffiliated. Strong Ukraine in Verkhovna Rada is not an independent party. The same goes with Vasyl Tsushko who was a former member of the Socialist Party of Ukraine at the time of his appointment (he became the leader of that party in July 2010Economy minister appointed Socialist Party head, Kyiv Post (July 26, 2010)); Tsushko was appointed on quote of the Communist Party.Socialist leader Moroz rules out a union with the Communists, Kyiv Post (July 24, 2010)