President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky topped the rating of Dreamers of the Year according to Politico magazine. The publication also called the head of the Ukrainian state Marathon Man .
As noted in the publication, the Ukrainian leader is on a par with such influential figures as Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela.
“Every now and then a leader comes along who single-handedly changes the course of history, not with the might of his army or the might of his economy, but with the power of his words.” Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is just such a leader, the magazine notes.
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In support of how influential the Ukrainian president turned out to be, the publication cites a video in which Vladimir Zelensky, in the first days of the war, confirms that he is in Kiev and says “We are here,” as well as his iconic phrase “I need ammunition, not a trip,” spoken in response to the US proposal to evacuate.
Also given as an example are the prepared speeches of the Ukrainian president, which he delivered in the parliaments of Europe and the world.
“Zelensky inspired Ukrainians to continue resisting Russia’s attempt at a full-scale invasion and persuaded, shamed and begged countries to help them do so. Those rhetorical efforts have borne fruit, with Western allies providing financial aid and increasing amounts of sophisticated weapons – from tanks to fighter jets – to Ukraine's determined forces.
Zelensky's leadership has been so effective that he has achieved what would have been unthinkable until recently, moving Ukraine toward EU membership — and closer than anyone thought possible to the NATO military alliance, Politico writes.
Infographics Politico
At the same time, the magazine notes that 2024 will be a difficult year for the Ukrainian president, as the world is distracted by the war in the Middle East, and Ukrainians are exhausted from two years of fighting and are trying to regain territory in the face of a brutal Russian meat grinder. At the same time, ordinary Europeans are feeling the squeeze on their livelihoods, which threatens to curb their generosity towards the people who are giving their lives to hold back the forces of Russian President Vladimir Putin, while EU politicians are beginning to worry about the likely cost to their incomes. (and the EU budget) for an agricultural power to gain access to the single market.
“With the West inactive and Ukraine continuing to face an existential threat from its much larger neighbor, Zelensky has moved from begging Western countries for help to lecturing—and not as successfully as his more invigorating oratory.” considers the publication.
Politico recalls that one such point of tension was the NATO summit in Vilnius in the summer, where the UK defense secretary and the US national security adviser separately warned that Ukraine should show more “gratitude” to its allies, despite Kiev’s disappointment with how the alliance formulated the prospects for its future membership.
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In parallel, Vladimir Zelensky in 2023 faced the prospect of elections in the middle of a war, although he has said that he does not intend to hold them. The point is that Ukraine was supposed to hold parliamentary elections in 2023, and presidential elections in March 2024.
“These are huge, if not insoluble, problems – the question is whether Zelensky can cope with them and at what cost,” the magazine concludes.
Politico's Dreamers of the Year rankings
Following the President of Ukraine are other personalities whom Politico classified as Dreamers.
Among them:
- Alexey Navalny
- Gerald Darmanin
- Roberta Metzola
- Mary Lou McDonald
- Peter Pavel
- Thomas Bach
- Nigel Farage
- Jenny Hermoso
Infographics Politico
Destroyers and Doers according to Politico
In addition to the list of Dreamers of the Year, Politico created two more ratings – Destroyers and Doers .
One of them included the head of the Presidential Office Andriy Ermak , who was called the “green cardinal” of Ukraine.
“Perhaps Ermak’s greatest achievement to date was bringing China to the negotiating table during peace talks in Saudi Arabia last August. Another of his projects: an international working group on Russian sanctions, which was called the Ermak-McFaul expert group, notes Politico.
In the ranking of personalities, Ermak ranks fourth. He was ahead of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni , French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen . After Ermak in the ranking is Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan .
Infographics Politico
As for the Destroyer rating, it was headed by the head of the Russian Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina .
It is noteworthy that third place on this list was taken by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban . According to Politico, during the year he impeded the rule of law and freedom of the press in his own country, entered into conflicts with European Union institutions and “held Brussels hostage” by “having an affair with Putin.”
Infographics Politico
The main winner and the most influential person in Europe was the Polish politician Donald Tusk , whose party recently won the parliamentary elections in Poland and will soon probably lead the government.
Let us remember that in 2022 the newspaper called the President of Ukraine the most influential person in Europe.
