According to the global network, on the 5th, Kazakh President Tokyev suddenly signed a presidential decree to dissolve the government, and First Deputy Prime Minister Sklyar was appointed acting prime minister, and the current members of the government will continue to perform their duties until the new government is approved.
Before analyzing this, it is necessary to briefly introduce the political system of Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is a semi-presidential state with a five-year presidential term and the right to appoint the prime minister and the first deputy prime minister, dissolve the government and parliament, hold a referendum at its own discretion, and so on. It should be noted that the position of the First Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan is higher than that of the Deputy Prime Minister, and if the Prime Minister is unable to perform his duties, the First Deputy Prime Minister will take over the post of Prime Minister.
Alihan Smailov
The former prime minister of Kazakhstan is Alihan Smailov, who was appointed by Tokayev after the violent riots in Kazakhstan subsided in 2022, and the Western media commented that Smailov is a typical "technocrat", and his appointment is an important step in the process of "de-Nazarbayev" in Kazakhstan.
After the unrest in Kazakhstan in 2022, the current president, Nursultan Tokbayev, who was called the "long-time president", stepped down in 2019 and took advantage of popular discontent to point the finger at Nazarbayev, further depriving him of his remaining position, and his close confidant, then-Prime Minister Aska Mamin, also resigned.
Sclyar
However, judging from Russian media reports, Smailov did not ease the grim domestic situation in Kazakhstan after coming to power, especially after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Kazakhstan's economy was affected by the spillover impact of the war, and inflation soared to 21%, and during Smailov's tenure, Kazakhstan has never been less natural and man-made disasters, either forest fires or sudden coal mine accidents.
Russian media said that Smailov promised at the beginning of his tenure that the proceeds of the tariff would be used to upgrade infrastructure and would not fall into someone's pocket, "but unfortunately, the miracle did not happen." ”
Mr. Smailov's "mediocre" performance in office has also made him a punching bag for the government and parliament, with Tokayev criticizing Mr. Smailov's economic policies last year and his "inability to rebuild itself" and his speech in January that he would carry out "more dynamic and transparent reforms."
Before Nazarbayev stepped down, Kazakhstan was full of pictures of him
Since Tokayev has promised to carry out reforms, Smailov will inevitably become a "victim" of reforms, and his dismissal from office is expected.
But on the other hand, since the "technocrats" Smailov are powerless, can a new person come to power to change Kazakhstan's stubborn ills?
This is obviously impossible. Looking at his resume, Tokayev's new prime minister, Sclial Sklyar, is also a "technocrat" who has served as head of energy, economy and infrastructure.
In 2022, when the Ekibastuz thermal power plant accident interrupted heating in Kazakhstan, Sklyar went to the scene to deal with it, and although the accident was eventually resolved, he pessimistically said that even if the government had "done its best" and allocated the necessary funds, it would only be able to make minor repairs to the energy facilities in Kazakhstan and not solve the problems accumulated for decades.
Ekibastuz Thermal Power Plant
The root cause of Kazakhstan's current situation can be traced back to Nazarbayev's nearly 30 years of power in Kazakhstan after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Although Nazarbayev has ensured Kazakhstan's stability to a certain extent, he is also the main culprit of the country's rampant corruption, and his family members and cronies have almost monopolized Kazakhstan's energy, financial and other industries, such as his daughter Kulibayeva is the owner of Kazakhstan's largest bank, and his son-in-law is a member of the board of directors of the National Welfare Fund and Gazprom, and the two are worth almost $2 billion.
Although Nazarbayev has been hit one after another since his ouster, it is almost impossible for Tokayev to uproot his domestic power in a few years, the most intuitive reflection is that when Smailov first came to power in 2022, the Western media commented that the ambitious reforms of this "technocrat" are almost impossible to implement.