The Zelensky Effect by Olga Onuch

Author:Olga Onuch
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2022-11-19T00:00:00+00:00

Style as substance

The style Zelensky brought to the presidency turned out to have strong roots in his past lives as an actor-producer and as a presidential candidate, and this same style continues to be his today as he leads Ukraine after Russia’s 2022 attack. Most noticeably for the public, he did not change the way he communicated with citizens upon assuming office. This includes his preference for personalized, direct, and curated appeals. His speeches are designed to be highly accessible to ordinary Ukrainians (the country’s “median voter”) and frequently delivered through short videos on social media. As those close to the administration told us, he often writes his own speeches, though in the busiest of times he will give staffers an outline to flesh out before giving it a final edit himself. His KVN-honed talent for extemporaneous speaking also serves him well; even today, some of his speeches actually are impromptu, off-the-cuff recordings. This approach is authentic to him, as much as it is purposely managed and delivered. Critics sometimes complained that he seemed to avoid extended questioning from potentially critical media, and indeed his direct appeals allowed him to reach constituents unfiltered by potentially critical eyes. His now-famous green T-shirt would also make appearances during his presidency, usually in meetings involving military themes, symbolizing an informality that he also sought to convey at times, though he would frequently appear in a suit.

This style, symbolizing a direct connection with the people of Ukraine, resonated with his longstanding substantive emphasis on civic Ukrainian identity and the duty of ordinary people to improve their country. This message takes center stage from his very first appearance as president. In his inaugural speech, Zelensky focused on the need for ordinary citizens to exercise their democratic civic duties not only through elections but also by doing what they can personally to fight systemic corruption. His presidential messaging also consistently emphasized the need to bring unity to the country and to find a path to peace. To some, this particular message appeared naïve, while to others it seemed to be typically “Zelenskyesque” pathos, grounded in humanist values. It does appear that he truly believed that negotiations could bear fruit even in the face of Russia’s ongoing occupation of Crimea and parts of the Donbas. As he himself put it: “The path to peace is not easy … I know that we can do it.”3 This patriotic and civic-duty-oriented rhetoric struck a chord with many ordinary people, including millions who recognized these themes from his famous political satire over the previous two decades. Zelensky’s focus on civic Ukrainian identity was perhaps most prominent when the COVID-19 pandemic put him in the position of leading the nation through the country’s most deadly public health crisis since World War II. He often concluded his addresses to the nation during this period with “protect yourselves, protect others, protect Ukraine.”

To some of the new president’s opponents, this message seemed hollow or gimmicky, if not outright dangerous. As Chapter 5 has shown,

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.