'There is also a huge potential upside in Zelenskiy’s election.'
KIEV, Ukraine-- Volodymyr Zelenskiy
, who was elected president of Ukraine, 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; he ran the world’s first successful presidential campaign that was entirely virtual
, according to the World Record Academy.
Before he ran for office, Zelenskiy was omnipresent on Ukraine’s most
popular TV network, 1+1, filling hours of weekly programming with his
variety shows, comedy talent contests and his series about an outsider
elected president, “Servant of the People.”
When he announced his
candidacy in a New Years’ 2019 video greeting, after opinion polls
showed him to be among the favorites,
many assumed he would run a typical celebrity campaign—full of public appearances and stump speeches, The
Politico Magazinereports.
Unlike President Donald Trump, who staged regular rallies and appeared
in town halls and in televised debates, Zelenskiy avoided human contact
with his electorate.
He addressed voters through short YouTube and
Instagram posts and appearances on TV. (One of his online videos,
calling for a debate he postponed until the last minute, garnered 14
million views.)
"After winning a first-round election that required a runoff—Zelenskiy
played table tennis at his campaign headquarters with a reporter, made a
vague one-minute statement laced with platitudes and followed by just
three minutes of Q and A, The Politico Magazine reports.
'As the election continued, a 15-minute
interview on his home TV station, and a softball interview of his wife
and him at home, were the most detailed press scrutiny he faced.
Volodymyr Zelensky
-
Comedian
but trained as a lawyer
-
Instagram
star with 4.2m followers
-
Millionaire
thanks to his production company Kvartal 95
-
Linked
to oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky through show on TV channel 1+1
Source: Ukrainian and international media
His political messaging focused on discontent with the way things
are—and lambasting Ukraine’s business and political elites for making
them that way.
'There is also a huge potential upside in Zelenskiy’s election, The Politico Magazine reports.
'A
novice politician, especially one willing to shed some of his oligarch
patrons, can be more open to implementing fundamental reforms that can
accelerate Ukraine’s transition into a transparent and stable market
economy. A leader from outside the existing political system might be
able, with some assistance, to assemble a capable team of reformers.
