Challenge Petkevich: Mission Impossible.

Why did Lukashenko lash out at his top official?

Alexander Lukashenko, hearing the report of the government for the past year, said that there are "hundreds of budget suckers in every department and ministry" - "blatant places for retired officials and so on". The ruler demanded to "urgently get rid of obscure organizations, structures and bureaucrats."

In this case, he said, Deputy Prime Minister Natalya Petkevich is underperforming. Before her, Igor Petrishenko and Vladimir Karanik were "bogged down" in this issue.

"Salidarnasts" asked "Radio Svaboda" political observer Valery Karbalevich how one can assess the work of Natalia Petkevich in her post and why Lukashenko is dissatisfied with her.

- It's difficult to assess the work of Natalia Petkevich in her post, as the system is quite closed, and officials in Belarus do not conduct independent policy, but follow instructions from above. Lukashenko accused Petkevich of the fact that the country has a lot of unnecessary budget organizations, but it's hard to say how fair this remark is," says the political observer.

Karbalevich notes that Petkevich as Deputy Prime Minister oversees the sphere of social policy, which is a necessary institution in many countries.

Reminder that Petkevich, commenting on her appointment in May 2025, called it a "challenge" and "a certain challenge".

- Because it's not just a social sphere (education, health care, culture) - it's a huge economy. Lukashenko has set big tasks and has high hopes for the results," she said, emphasizing that "the social block is the most important thing for our people."

- There are many ministries, such as the Ministry of Housing and Communal Services, which are not needed in the market economy and can be abandoned," adds Valery Karbalevich. - But the institutions, which are supervised by Petkevich, cannot be abandoned. Only if they are transferred to the private sector. But is it possible in Belarus today? It's hard to imagine that some organizations, for example, in the field of education, will be transferred to the private sector, because today we observe the opposite picture.

In countries with market economy there are private pension funds. In Belarus, the state pension system dominates. Therefore, I do not understand Lukashenko's accusations well: what budget organizations can be liquidated so that it would be painless for the efficiency of the social sphere?

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