April 26, 2019

After the presidential election

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It’s pretty incredible all right: a fictional teacher-turned-accidental president in a TV comedy becomes the president in real life. And with over 73 percent voter support. That, in a nutshell, is what happened in Ukraine on election day, April 21.

The voters in Ukraine chose political neophyte Volodymyr Zelensky over the incumbent, Petro Poroshenko. His election marked a powerful anti-establishment trend whereby the people of Ukraine voted for change for change’s sake, thus expressing their disappointment that President Poroshenko could not fulfill all his promises and all their wishes – a tall order no matter your political leanings.

What that change will be is anyone’s guess, given that Mr. Zelensky spoke only in the vaguest of terms about what he intended to do if elected. The comedian-turned-politician turned down countless requests for media interviews (including from The Ukrainian Weekly) and gave no public speeches, choosing instead to engage with the electorate via the Internet and social media. Even once he became Ukraine’s president-elect, he chose to react to news developments not directly, but via e-mailed statements from his team or his own posts on Facebook. 

Indeed, writing in Politico, Adrian Karatnycky, senior fellow of the Atlantic Council, had this to say:  “…Zelensky ran the world’s first successful presidential campaign that was entirely virtual. He not only traded on the image of a complete outsider, he also did no face-to-face campaigning, made no speeches, held no rallies, eschewed travel across the country, gave no press conferences, avoided in-depth interviews with independent journalists and, until the last day of campaigning, did not debate.” 

As for that so-called debate held in a soccer stadium between the two presidential contenders two days before election day: it was certainly not a debate. Instead, it was a televised show, with the candidates ostensibly posing a few questions to each other and mostly hurling accusations. And the “moderators” were no more than timekeepers. As Reuters aptly characterized it: “The event was light on policy and heavy on theatrics with supporters cheering and booing their respective candidates and shouting ‘Shame’ and ‘Go away’ in a gladiatorial atmosphere.” Furthermore, the real presidential debate in the TV studio of the state-run public broadcaster, as called for by law, never materialized as Mr. Zelensky did not show.

Mr. Karatnycky also noted that “Some voters even appear to have conflated him with his TV persona, a high school teacher whose viral YouTube rant against corruption and government incompetence gets him elected Ukraine’s president,” and he pointed out that “Throughout the campaign, short video blogs showed Zelensky interacting with a range of informal advisers, usually well-regarded reformers or nongovernmental organization leaders who over the course of three months explained to the public what they thought the candidate might believe.”

Thus, we truly do not know what Mr. Zelensky himself stands for. In fact, the candidate told the electorate he is open to new ideas and therefore was soliciting their input to help him craft a platform. Is this how policy will be determined in the Zelensky administration? Will the virtual candidate be a virtual president? 

On the day after the election, April 22, an impromptu rally emerged in front of the Presidential Administration building. President Poroshenko, with First Lady Maryna Poroshenko by his side, came out to thank Ukrainians – and they him. Chants of  “Po-ro-shen-ko” and “Dia-ku-ye-mo!” were heard from the people. They were grateful for all Mr. Poroshenko had done during his five years in office: bringing Ukraine closer to the European Union and NATO, rebuilding the Ukrainian military that was decimated by the pro-Russian administration of Viktor Yanukovych, defending Ukraine on the world stage, strongly contributing toward an independent Orthodox Church for Ukraine, supporting the Ukrainian language after decades of Russification… It was a worthy and heartfelt send-off.

 As for Mr. Zelensky, speaking in person to the crowd gathered at his campaign headquarters on election night, he said: “I promise all of you, I will never let you down.” We can be sure that the expectations of the over 13.5 million who voted for him will be sky high. Likewise, we can be sure the new and inexperienced leader will be tested. 

As a diaspora newspaper published primarily for Ukrainian Americans, we can only hope for the best for the future of our ancestral homeland. And we can continue to support Ukraine by encouraging the West to help the novice president and his team become the leaders Ukraine’s people deserve and need.

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