Strong approve:
- Volodymyr Zelensky (preparation to the invasion could've been better, but his reaction to the invasion was amazing moral and military leadership, and he's been playing the media game fantastically).
- Joe Biden (a few strong flaws such as too much emphasis on loudly promising not to send troops to Ukraine and "excusing" a small invasion, but he's overall been very forceful and effective in uniting the world against Russia and doing as much as possible without risking nuclear war).
- Boris Johnson (strongest flaw has been a lack of receptiveness, as far as I heard, to Ukrainian refugees. Otherwise, very good global leadership and a welcome forceful weight).
Approve:
- Ursula von der Leyen (don't know much about her personally, but despite a slow start the EU has risen to the challenge in an unprecedented way, and I truly think it's the union's finest hour yet).
- Emmanuel Macron (not forceful enough at first, but his diplomatic efforts to prevent it, and since Putin actually invaded he hasn't looked back and joined the global response.
Weak approve:
- Olaf Scholz- the refusal to send arms to a country under a clear threat, and the harming of the united European front before the invasion, are inexcusable. However, I appreciate the turnaround on both the response and sanctions and the general defense policy. Still needs to prove himself in the coming days.
Weak disapprove:
- Naftali Bennet (bonus)- Israel's fetish for "security interests" caused it to miss forcefully joining the most impressive democratic pushback against evil since WW2. This is actually a big mistake for Israel's interests to be part of the free world, its soft power and its alliances. I don't think we should've been extremely militaristic, but if we at least joined the efforts it's not like Russia would start shooting down Israeli aircraft in Syria. The response has improved, with direct condemnations of Russia and humanitarian aid, and the Foreign Ministry has been one of the most effective in the world in helping Israeli citizens in the warzone, but the lack of military assistance and the meek wording of condemnations has been cowardly.
Disapprove:
- Xi Jinping- obviously, the willingness to support both the Russian invasion and its economy are evil. However, China has been less supportive of the evil Russian actions than I expected, and don't seem willing to pick up their economy.
Strong disapprove:
- Narenda Modi- without any real geopolitical or economic reasons, Modi has been absolutely atrocious and refuses to put his country in the global coalition of free countries.
Volodymyr Zelensky (Ukraine): Strongly approve
Joe Biden (US): Lean approve
Ursula von der Leyen (EU): Lean approve
Boris Johnson (UK): Strongly approve
Xi Jinping (China): Strongly disapprove
Emmanuel Macron (France): Lean disapprove
Olaf Scholz (Germany): Lean disapprove
Narendra Modi (India): Strongly disapprove
Andriy! Glad to see you're doing alright. Your opinion on this is obviously the most important in this thread. Do you think Macron and Scholz, who started very weak before the invasion, have done enough now to redeem themselves? If not, what do you think they need to do to make up for their previous weakness?
Poll
