This morning, Coalition caucus members are meeting to formally nominate Krill Serbin as Prime Minister. Mr Serbin, who has been acting in the capacity of the role since Asta Dahn’s resignation in April, will see his appointment voted on by the lower house when he is expected to be confirmed in the role in his own right by 10.30am. Serbin, as Prime Minister, is then expected to be called to meet President Tattar at the Niveri Palace, where he will present his top team of ministers, including his own replacement as Defence Minister and First Deputy Prime Minister. Later this afternoon, two of those appointments, for foreign and finance minister, are expected to be confirmed by the Federal Council, along with the announcement of the country’s next permanent Commander General. Culminating in a speech around 5.30pm, the government has said it expects the day to go ‘smoothly’ – and is not expecting any problems in what is being described as ‘formalities’. Mr Serbin’s party continues to hold a 10 seat majority in the Assembly, and no government has ever lost its appointments in the upper house, despite the Unionist majority.
“Today is essentially ceremony – we all know that Mr Serbin, long considered a potential Prime Minister, will hold the role by this evening, but what is less well known is how he intends to govern” said one former centrist presidential advisor Sergey Nikitovich. “He is expected to cast aside at least one of the senior ministers he inherited from Ms Dahn to make way for his closest allies, including Ms [Yulia] Schevchenko who has been lobbying hard to be appointed Foreign Minister. It is expected she will replace Fabian Meyer, who himself is thought to be in the running for the finance role. We are also likely to see a number of new faces join government in more junior positions, but Serbin has also suggested he wants to see an overall reduction in the size of his executive team” added Mr Nikitovich, speaking on PTV this morning. The most controversial decision of the day is thought to be the announcement of the Commander General post – where Mr Serbin’s preferred candidate has reportedly been blocked by President Tattar, resulting in Vasyl Sydorenko’s nomination – a highly political figure, who has spent 13 years advising Unionist presidents, and is seen as close to the highest circles of the Union Party.
Mr Serbin’s appointment as Prime Minister mirrors the same process used in 2011 when Ludvig Fedorov, then Foreign Minister, was nominated to replace outgoing PM Koruin Gruaman, who resigned having lost the 2011 presidential election to former general Gennadiy Artamova.
