MINSK, 18 October (BelTA) – Copying foreign state administration models does not always match peculiarities of the local system. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko made the statement as he visited the Public Administration Academy on 18 October, BelTA has learned.
Speaking about the development of the new civil service law, Aleksandr Lukashenko remarked that although Belarus relies on new experience it should primarily focus on priorities of its own state policy instead of borrowing heavily from some foreign models.
The head of state backed the reasoning by quoting an event from his own life. He recalled meeting with the then presidents of Russia and the USA Boris Yeltsin and Bill Clinton on the sidelines of an international summit once. The U.S. president was about to retire and, according to Aleksandr Lukashenko, he did not know what he would do later on.
Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “I said to Boris Yeltsin that we should offer the job of the head of the Union State of Belarus and Russia to Bill Clinton because he would have to deal with problems there using our input anyway. Boris Yeltsin laughed so loud that everyone turned to look at us. Bill Clinton was laughing as well although he didn't understand what we had been talking about. The interpreter explained it and he started laughing even harder.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko remarked back then that the U.S. president would not be able to do a good job as the leader of Belarus or Russia. “He would have had to deal with farms, potatoes instead of only the public opinion,” Aleksandr Lukashenko explained. “Think about what the presidents in post-Soviet space do and compare it to the work of our beloved and respected Donald Trump. Massive differences.”
“This is why you have to be careful with foreign experience. Not only at the top but anywhere,” Aleksandr Lukashenko concluded.
