Is Volodymyr Zelenskyy one of the greatest leaders of all time?

[CumbrianLefty]

Zelensky is a clown who has repeatedly undermined his country's position and antagonized his allies in the months prior to this conflict, but he is very good at playing a leader on television.

Which is a huge part of actual leadership in a modern war. The Mother Night "we are what we pretend to be, so we must be very careful what we pretend to be" quote comes to mind. Right now, Zelensky is indeed pretending to be Ukrainian Churchill.

The Churchill comparison really is apt, considering Churchill's long record of failure in government.

My thoughts exactly. Churchill, in contrast to many in his party including his infamous immediate predecessor, was right on the existentially important issue of the time. I suppose if you're going to be a horrible and failed political figure overall you might as well be remembered for something very good.

There is a "revisionist" view that the criticism of Chamberlain has been overdone, and "appeasement" - though it turned out badly, as we all know - was in large degree a device to give us time to properly prepare for war. In this analysis, it is his predecessor - Baldwin - who emerges worse.

[SevenEleven]

No.  He's been a good wartime figurehead this week, but he was not a very good president (although by Ukrainian standards he could've been a lot worse).

Zelenskyy's approval rating was around 20% prior to this crisis breaking out.

To be fair, Ukraine is a nearly impossible place to govern.

[Flyersfan232]

No.  He's been a good wartime figurehead this week, but he was not a very good president (although by Ukrainian standards he could've been a lot worse).

Zelenskyy's approval rating was around 20% prior to this crisis breaking out.

To be fair, Ukraine is a nearly impossible place to govern.

y

[Velasco]

No way. His previous record is dubious, to say the least, and his offshore connections revealed by the Pandora papers contradict his alleged anti-oligarch stance

However he is performing as a true servant of his people during these tragic days and his speech to the Russian people is moving

[DavidB.]

He's not considered corrupt in the "self enrichment" way, more in the "hire who you know" way

Which automatically makes him by far the least corrupt president in Ukraine to date. Every politician hires people they already know and like to work with. I wouldn't call that corruption. If you know you can successfully work with someone, and you are elected to do your job successfully, then hiring these people contributes to achieving the goals you were elected to reach.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

He's not considered corrupt in the "self enrichment" way, more in the "hire who you know" way

Which automatically makes him by far the least corrupt president in Ukraine to date. Every politician hires people they already know and like to work with. I wouldn't call that corruption. If you know you can successfully work with someone, and you are elected to do your job successfully, then hiring these people contributes to achieving the goals you were elected to reach.

Yeah I agree with that, but it was the common complaint of the sort of good governance liberal who comments online on English about politics, who didn't typically have the greatest view of Zelensky.

[Alcibiades]

https://twitter.com/RachelDonadio/status/1498074858646818817?s=20&t=gh4eH6Fb...

He’s certainly going to go down as a hugely historically important leader, not just for his country but for Europe, the West, and liberal democracy as a whole. Really living the values that the so many politicians only preach about, and in the process inspiring them to properly step up to the plate and putting liberal democratic ideals in the global ascendancy once again.

[Mr. Smith]

Like Churchill, he's in the right place, right time.

[PSOL]

He has done nothing but sell off Ukrainian production sites and services to western powers instead of the former model of bidding to an open market (Russia, China, and NATO) but with more restraint. I can’t say I’m a fan.

[Leading Political Consultant Ma Anand Sheela]

He may have a claim to being the best Ukrainian leader. Which given his record in office prior to this does tell you a lot about Ukrainian history, but nevertheless...

[MABA 2020]

If Ukraine is somehow able to repel their Russian invaders then absolutely, otherwise 'one of the greatest leaders of all time' seems a bit much. Nevertheless he is an inspirational figure who has shown incredible bravery.

[It’s so Joever]

[quote author=Л.Д. Сміт показує «Солідарність за Україну» link=topic=484544.msg8501232#msg8501232 date=1646015970 uid=12327]
Like Churchill, he's in the right place, right time.


[/quote]
This. The man is actually a s**t president from the whole governing standpoint, but he is an excellent inspirational figure. It would be nice if people understood both are needed in different times.

[Storebought]

Zelensky is a clown who has repeatedly undermined his country's position and antagonized his allies in the months prior to this conflict, but he is very good at playing a leader on television.

Zelensky appeals to western public opinion and knows how to message to them better than I think any other one of the ex-soviet states could have done. It was not an automatic thing that the EU in particular would fly to Ukraine's assistance even in the face of Russian aggression. Try to imagine how successful Ukraine's appeals for US/EU assistance would be if its leader was as 'telegenic' and persuasive as Lukashenko...

[Bootes Void]

Has to be one of the top right?

[Aurelius]

Well, it took barely two weeks for him to go right back to acting like a clown. He surely knows that the no-fly zone he keeps demanding would almost inevitably lead to a much wider outbreak of war that would leave Ukraine even worse off.

[Alcibiades]

Well, it took barely two weeks for him to go right back to acting like a clown. He surely knows that the no-fly zone he keeps demanding would almost inevitably lead to a much wider outbreak of war that would leave Ukraine even worse off.

I’ve said this elsewhere, but, again, him asking for an NFZ is absolutely not clownish. There is literally zero reason for him not to ask for one — he knows as well as anyone else that NATO will never agree to an NFZ, he is simply using the request to gain greater leverage over his other demands, such as being supplied with fighter jets.