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NY Times Op-Ed, April 19, 2019
Maybe We’ll Be Better Off With a Clown as President
By Alisa Sopova
“No Promises, No Excuses!” Such is the only political message of the
comedian who could soon lead one of Europe’s largest countries. That
outcome may seem absurd. Yet it could be an opportunity.
Volodymyr Zelensky scored a spectacular victory in the first round of
Ukraine’s presidential election on March 31, winning some 30 percent of
the votes, compared with about 16 percent for the incumbent, Petro O.
Poroshenko. It was an astonishing result not only because the actor’s
only political experience to date consists of playing the part of a
president on TV, but also because he presented no platform, no policy
proposal.
Branding himself “Ze,” he campaigned mostly via social media postings
and by touring the country with his comedy shows. Instead of substantive
messages, he offered banter and mockery. When he was accused of being a
clown instead of a serious candidate, Mr. Zelensky proudly agreed,
posting a video selfie on Instagram with a round red nose superimposed
on his face.
His defiance has proved triumphant, and it may well make him president
after the runoff vote on Sunday. Better to keep silent than to say
anything in today’s Ukraine — the country with the least trust in its
government, according to a recent Gallup survey.
Since the Orange Revolution in 2004, politicians of all stripes have
promised to defeat corruption and pull Ukraine out of the mire of its
transition from communism. After so many lies, failures and
disappointments, such promises have turned into cruel clichés.
The government’s continuing war against the Russia-backed insurgency in
eastern Ukraine has also created a toxic public discourse. Journalists
have been called traitors simply for seeking accreditation from the
separatist authorities of the Donbas region. Using the word “conflict”
instead of “war” or “Russia” instead of “aggressor state” can destroy a
reputation. Say something, almost anything, and you expose yourself to
being called too pro-Russian, too pro-Western, too nationalistic or not
patriotic enough.
In this climate, Mr. Zelensky’s blank slate is an asset for him — as
well as a canvas onto which people can paint whatever they want. And
what do the people want right now? Apparently to punish Mr. Poroshenko
for forgetting his own slogan to “live in a new way” from the 2014
election, and for returning instead to the comfort of the old, familiar
Ukraine of corruption, poverty, inequality and dirty politics. Back
then, a popular revolt had just toppled President Viktor F. Yanukovych,
who fled the country in disgrace. The rejection of Mr. Poroshenko today
is less thrilling but no less momentous.
Just a few weeks ago, before the first round of voting, he was
presenting himself as the only possible head of state, the nation’s
savior. His political message had become markedly conservative. “Army.
Language. Faith.” Those three ingredients, the president repeatedly
emphasized, were the keys to the “unique national identity” of Ukraine —
even though the country is bilingual and secular.
At a rally in Cherkasy, central Ukraine, earlier this year, a local
activist asked the president if he was going to fight corruption. Mr.
Poroshenko answered, “I have a request for you: Light a candle — because
you are a nonbeliever — and God will calm you.” He called the man, who
had spoken in Russian, a “Moscow provocateur.” A video of the exchange
went viral. Mr. Poroshenko’s arrogance was then punished in the voting
booths.
After that he began to lose his nerve. In the opening move of the
campaigning for Sunday’s runoff, Mr. Poroshenko’s team posted billboards
that portrayed him facing off with President Vladimir V. Putin of
Russia. The move was widely ridiculed: Mr. Poroshenko, having nothing
left to offer, appeared to be grasping at nationalist straws and trying
to instill fear in a boogeyman. His staff promptly took down the ads.
In a poll taken April 9–14, 17 percent of respondents said they intended
to vote for Mr. Poroshenko and more than 48 percent for Mr. Zelensky.
And while Mr. Poroshenko has misstepped since the first round of voting,
Mr. Zelensky, true to form, has done little except mock his competitor.
After challenging the incumbent to a debate, Mr. Zelensky stood him up
last Sunday. (The two men disagreed about when to hold the event.)
Another debate is scheduled for April 19.
Mr. Zelensky’s supporters are often accused of confusing the TV comedy
series in which he plays the president, “Servant of the People,” with
real life. The charge is paradoxical because the show is ruthless toward
everyday Ukrainians: If people vote for Mr. Zelensky hoping this fiction
will become reality, they are endorsing a very unflattering portrayal of
themselves. The satire isn’t only about cynical politicians and corrupt
oligarchs. It is also about sycophants who abuse their neighbors but
worship ministers’ parking spaces, and about housewives pressuring
husbands to accept bribes so they can buy a fur coat.
The series, in a word, is about how the corruption of ordinary citizens
translates into the corruption of the political class. And if that is
the closest thing Mr. Zelensky has to a political manifesto, then his
central message is this: We are all to blame for what we have.
When during the campaign, he was asked to share his plans for the
presidency, “Ze” simply said that he would ask the people what they want
through popular referendums and ideas crowdsourcing. Whether he meant
this or not, such statements alone restore agency to common people and
signal that this election may be an occasion for Ukrainians to push for
more transparent governance and greater public participation.
Periodic uprisings that replace one figurehead with another, hopefully
better, figurehead have not been enough. This abnormal election may
announce a new model for societal change — from the ground up, through
daily civic effort and personal responsibility. Put differently: What a
Zelensky presidency will look like will depend primarily on ordinary
Ukrainians.
They have sustained democracy by keeping a check on presidential power.
Now, they will need to keep a check on the new president himself. Mr.
Zelensky is inexperienced, politically amorphous and thought to have
ties to the oligarch Ihor V. Kolomoisky. Clearly, he is no savior. But
if Ukrainians can capitalize on this fact, plain as it is, the
comedian’s election to the presidency could be a historic opportunity
for them to help themselves.
Alisa Sopova is an independent journalist from Ukraine.
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