Proposals on the new government composition were discussed at a meeting with the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, BELTA correspondent reports.
June 3, Minsk / Vladimir Matveev - BELTA/. Proposals on the new government composition were discussed at a meeting with the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, BELTA correspondent reports."Before making a decision on the main issue on today's agenda, I would like to consult with you. We are talking about the formation of a new government. I have already spoken about this. And I gave such instructions, you all dealt with these issues. When my statement was made that the incumbent President always determines the government in advance before the elections, so that people, voting for or against, understand who will be involved in solving the pressing issues related to their lives, the socio-economic development of our state," said Alexander Lukashenko.
The Head of State noted that the meeting participants held a series of consultations, studied the current government composition, new candidates, and submitted proposals on this issue yesterday. "Nevertheless, with you – people who are somehow involved in the formation of the new government and submit proposals to the President, I would like to consult once again before making a decision. At the same time, I want to remind you, so that there are no misinterpretations, that we started forming the composition of the future government a long time ago, as it was thought and conceived then. Probably, about six months ago," added the Belarusian leader.
The President recalled that new ministers had already joined the government then, and the former ones were replaced either at their own request due to transfer to new work, or, in rare cases, for failing to ensure the relevant area of work. "Simply due to illness or other reasons, people moved to less demanding work. And we have been forming the new government composition for six months. Therefore, one should not expect a revolution to happen here with the change of government," emphasized Alexander Lukashenko.
"A sharp break, replacing all government members would be wrong"
The Head of State noted that large-scale changes in the government's composition are undesirable also due to the current situation – the global economic crisis amid the pandemic. "This would be very bad. Because now the whole world has entered a period of unprecedented economic crisis, which in any state has led to serious changes in social relations. The consequences of this crisis will be very serious. Therefore, a drastic overhaul, replacing all government members would be wrong from the current perspective. And there is no need for it. A new generation of leaders has emerged, who have shown themselves well and worked not badly in the government. Why replace them? They can work," the President said.
"Those who today cannot cope with such volumes during this crisis period must, of course, be replaced and assigned to other work," added Alexander Lukashenko.
"We cannot lose momentum, even if it's small"
The President provided another argument as to why it is impossible to delay further the discussion and subsequent adoption of relevant decisions. "I have already said: the global crisis is also affecting Belarus. It's good that we managed to get through this situation with the pandemic without stopping production. If we had stopped, we would never have restarted it. This could only happen in a fairy tale," the Belarusian leader remarked.
Alexander Lukashenko emphasized that during this crisis period, it is impossible to lose momentum, even if it's small. "And we need to work more actively, especially in the economy, in order to emerge from this crisis, which was unexpected for everyone, with minimal losses," said the Head of State.
He asked the meeting participants to express their views both on the government as a whole and on specific candidates.
The Chairperson of the Council of the Republic, Natalya Kochanova, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Vladimir Andreichenko, the Head of the Presidential Administration, Igor Sergeenko, and the State Secretary of the Security Council, Andrei Ravkov, were invited to the event to discuss these issues.