President Lukashenka steers clear of publicly discussing socio-economic agenda

President Lukashenka has taken a back seat and has not made any important socio-economic and political decisions for a while. In addition, due to the absence of clear guidance from the president, the state apparatus lacks a common vision of the country’s development. The Belarusian bureaucracy is unlikely to take the initiative to develop and implement important decisions; the latter could lead to the accumulation of problem issues in the case the president continues to hold aloof.

During a working meeting with Presidential Administration Head Natalia Kochanova, President Lukashenka has announced several major events.

Despite the plans to revise the decree on social dependants by April 1^st and ensure 100% employment by May 1^st, the Belarusian leadership avoids raising these issues in public due to their controversial nature and unpopularity of the proposed solutions. Decisions on privatisation of state property and economic development are either pending or disregarded. In addition, despite the initial readiness to amend the election legislation after the 2016 parliamentary elections, and recommendations elaborated by the Central Election Commission by February 1^st this year, the president has not resumed the discussion on this matter.

The last time when the president held a meeting with the participation of 250 representatives of the power vertical was in late 2013. Regardless of periodic announcements, the president has held aloof from holding such large-scale meetings on current affairs, which is most likely to be due to the lack of new effective responses to the economic and social policy challenges.

President Lukashenka has suspended from making strategic decisions and adjusting the state policy, which could be due to the lingering economic recession and the authorities’ inability to find a way out of the crisis. The top management is more often proposing and implementing scathing initiatives, such as the ‘decree on social dependants’ or adjustments in the secondary school hours.

Overall, the lack of a clear guidance from the top leadership has hampered the state apparatus. In addition, if the president continues to hold aloof from making important political decisions, the probability of imbalances in the power vertical will increase.