s/Russian/English/, as a permanent civil service is just as effective at this sort of thing (though an appointed one is even worse for other reasons).
Obviously what is really needed here is for smitty_one_each to sit down with _Yes, Minister_ and watch it (again, one hopes). A nice dose of cynicism will soon help.
(I just assumed the 'we must do something. this is something. therefore we must do it' part of things. That's what drives almost *all* panicked political action, so there's little need to mention it: the important thing is why they picked this 'something' over another one.)