Mykhailo Podolyak, an anti-crisis communications advisor to Head of the President's Office Andriy Yermak, has said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky consults with experts before making an important decision.
"To make a functional decision, the president convenes several people. These people often have, let's say, conflicting ideas. He listens to them, moderates a meeting, and gets 20 perspectives. The next day he may gather them again if the issue is complicated, listen to them again, see the changes in someone's perception after he's asked to study the issue deeper...," he told the Ukrayinska Pravda online newspaper in an interview.
Podolyak clarified the head of the President's Office or the first assistant forms a group of experts for Zelensky on a specific topic.
"For example, if we analyze energy. It's clear there is a circle that in one way or another concerns the relevant parliamentary committee, the Cabinet of Ministers, including the prime minister, or the industry minister. And, for example, the head of Energoatom or the head, relatively speaking, of Centrenergo, i.e. those SOEs that in one way or another affect the energy balance in the country," he said.
Based on a meeting with a group of experts, Zelensky sketches out a logistics plan and makes an appropriate decision. However, the main problem lies with the executive level, the advisor said.
Read alsoZelensky hospitalized with COVID-19 at Feofania Clinic in Kyiv"We don't drag in strategizing functions, as many people think, everything is clear here – where, in what industry, and what we want to get parametrically. We are starting to drag at the executive level. Our managers are often those who, in my opinion, do not correspond to their positions, both in terms of intellectual potential, and in terms of work experience, and in terms of readiness to work in crisis situations," Podolyak added.
