KZBlog

Earlier this week, President Nazarbayev appointed a new Minister of Energy and a new Minister of Labor and Social Protection, as well as a new deputy Prime Minister. What is odd is that the constitutional reforms advocated by the President required that Parliament approve new Ministers. However, last Tuesday when the announcements were made, the old Parliament had been dismissed and the new Parliament had yet to be sworn in. Now this happens in the US all the time; Bush recently made some appointments while Congress was on recess to avoid any opposition. What is odd about Nazarbayev’s move is that 1) the President himself supported this new authority for Parliament to appoint ministers, so why is he acting against it now? 2) The new Parliament is composed 100% of members of Nurotan, the head of which is the President, so why would there be any opposition to his appointments, especially considering that of late the President seems to consult with Nurotan about appointments; 3) The new Parliament was sworn in the next day. What was so urgent that it could not have waited a couple of days?

The only theory I can offer is that somewhere in the mix of team loyalties there would have been some opposition in Parliament to these appointments. Anyone more familiar with how these ties work is most invited to comment.

Another move making some news is the dismissal of Timur Kulibayev, the President’s son-in-law as deputy chairman of Samruk, the national holding company that oversees Kazmunaigas among other major state enterprises. No reason was given, but most people feel it was meant to counterbalance the annihilation of Rakhat Aliyev as a political force. Rumors abound that Kulibayev was biding his time, waiting for Aliyev to fall out of grace, so that he could step into the President’s chair. The President may either be trying to block another rival for power, by dismissing Kulibayev or he may be trying to quell rumors that Kulibayev is now in the ascendancy. Or it may be a feint, to ensure that Kulibayev’s future career is not tainted with rumors of preference and nepotism.

Some people have suggested that Kulibayev essentially engineered the conflict between the President and Aliyev, knowing well Aliyev’s short temper and ambitions to lead the nation. If this is the case, Kulibayev may be reaping the harvest of playing with the President but only time will tell if he falls further, or suddenly becomes Prime Minister!