Are you interested in testing our business solutions? Strategic objectives are sacrificed for short-term benefits. Furthermore, questions about his Jewishness have exploded into the international consciousness: Has his Jewish background put him or his fellow Ukrainian Jews in more danger? Zelensky's approval rating falls below 50%. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1100076/volodymyr-zelensky-s-approval-rating-ukraine/. Zelensky's approval ratings are continuing to rise. That didn't happen. Zelensky, falling short of providing Ukraine with the vigorous reformist policy he promised in his presidential campaign, has been gradually losing support from the public, threatening his and his partys future in Ukrainian politics. Not only did the President lose the popularity test to local strongmen, but he also failed to handle tensions between the central government and local government officials. A former actor used to the sound of applause, Mr. Zelensky is notoriously thin-skinned when it comes to criticism and challenging questions. In March 2020, when his chief of staffs brother was caught offering government posts for money, Mr. Zelensky did nothing. The translator was heard pausing and choking up while conveying Zelensky's words. Early in his tenure, Mr. Zelensky commanded more power than any of his predecessors had. We wanted to hear what the other side of things is. they were proud to see their country after its history of anti-Jewish pogroms and Soviet-era persecution elect a Jewish president. President Zelenskys Servant of the People party suffered significant setbacks in the 2020 Ukrainian local elections, manifesting the decline of Zelenskys popularity and the nations waning trust in the ruling government. Sixty-two percent of Ukrainians dont want him to run for re-election, and if an election were held today, hed garner about 25 percent of the vote down from the 30 percent he easily won in the first round of the 2019 election. Then he had to deal with the Covid pandemic. President Volodymyr Zelensky listens during a joint press conference with the Lithuanian president (unseen) after talks at the presidential palace in Vilnius, Lithuania on Nov. 27, 2019. At the time, Zelensky had the approval of 29.3% of respondents and the disapproval of 56.1%. In addition, Zelenskys party, which initially voted with reformist parties such as Holos and Petro Poroshenkos European Solidarity, has recently voted against reforms with OPFL. The Ukrainians surprised us all. KELLY: Yeah, but that's a really steep drop. An interpreter translating Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's speech broke down on the air. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky holds a press conference on Russia's military operation in Ukraine, Feb. 25, 2022. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. 1 target, he said in a video message, and his family is the No. His government was pursuing a political rival on treason . Russia, of course, has been waging a war in eastern Ukraine since 2014. But if it did come to that, does he trust Zelenskyy to defend Ukraine? NBC News reports a senior Department of State official said the U.S. will reopen. Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1100076/volodymyr-zelensky-s-approval-rating-ukraine/ (last visited March 04, 2023), Do you approve or disapprove of the actions of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky? So he says right now, a lot of critics of Zelenskyy are saying with Russian troops at the borders, it's not the right time to call for Zelenskyy to resign. who seek to honor former Nazi collaborationists, through statues, marches and other tributes. Furthermore, although he did not achieve a breakthrough in negotiations with Russia during the 2019 Normandy Summit, President Zelensky succeeded in securing a large prisoner exchange with the Kremlin, as well as another ceasefire agreement. Putin fared the worst of any head of state included in the survey, with only 6% of U.S. adults expressing confidence in him following his decision to invade Ukraine. We are here. Zelensky, an entertainer-turned-politician, saw his approval ratings steadily decline since his election in 2019, continuing a string of displeasure with leadership within Ukraine over issues like . According to Transparency International, Ukraine remains the third-most-corrupt country in Europe, after Russia and Azerbaijan. He's 42. We are in Kyiv. And now hes facing the prospect of a full-scale invasion by Russia. By YURAS KARMANAU February 13, 2022. A weekly round-up of some of the best articles featured in the most recent issue of the New Statesman, sent each Saturday. The churn eventually stopped, but at a cost. When Mr. Zelensky took power in Ukraine in 2019, converting his TV fame into a stellar political career, no one knew what to expect. Ms. Rudenko is a Ukrainian journalist and the chief editor of The Kyiv Independent. Go deeper: The latest on the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Pew notes that this is a downturn since the start of his term, when that number was closer to 6 in 10 American adults. Who should I appoint for roles like the head of the Ukrainian FBI? But despite such dwindling numbers, he remains the most popular Ukrainian politician with support across Ukraine and a strong chance of re-election. President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses the members . We are defending Ukraine, Zelensky said. The Power of Values: An Interview With an Obama Foreign Policy Speechwriter, Opinion: A Review of Bill Haytons latest book, Invention of China. Why did people vote for him so overwhelmingly? After high school, Zelensky earned a scholarship to study in Israel on the strength of his English scores but turned it down because his father did not want him to go, according to an interview he gave in 2018. In normal circumstances, that would be bad enough. UNIDENTIFIED INTERPRETER: If the person was born to be a politician, yeah, it's OK. Positioning himself as the antithesis of Poroshenko, Zelensky ran in the presidential election as a populist politician who defends the interests of the people against the ruling class. Quick and essential guide to domestic and global politics from the New Statesman's politics team. And so that's the TV show, and then it happens in real life. That. Now, he is at. KELLY: Max does not think there will be a war with Russia. Our weekly culture newsletter from books and art to pop culture and memes sent every Friday. His ratings had slumped after he arrived in office in mid-2019, and by December 2021 they sat at just 30 . He has excelled in the role of warrior-president and won the hearts of the people he was elected to serve. First, President Volodymyr Zelensky commands a 94% approval rating. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. And heres our email: letters@nytimes.com. Zelensky has toed a line between, projecting a strong patriotic front against Russia, and working to delicately stand up to the nationalists. ", (SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "SERVANT OF THE PEOPLE"). The roots of Russia's invasion of Ukraine go back decades and run deep. The Servant of the People party, which won a majority in the parliamentary elections in 2019, as well as President Zelensky, initially exhibited signs of real commitment to their reformist platforms. Richard Belzer was a Jewish comedian. KELLY: She tells me that when he became president in 2019, that is when the skating rink was built. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses the U.S. Congress on March 16, 2022, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. Scandals and tolerance for corruption have chipped away at Mr. Zelenskys popularity. His fame and anti-establishment allure landed him with a parliamentary majority, a handpicked cabinet and a mandate for reform. The current war is not Zelenskys first experience as the center of international attention not long after being elected, he found himself ensnared, Russian Vladimir Putin suggesting that he is a Nazi, in former President Donald Trumps first impeachment scandal, Feds arrest Michigan man who plotted to kill Jewish elected officials in the state, American citizen killed in latest West Bank shooting amid escalating violence. If you are an admin, please authenticate by logging in again. (JTA) Four years ago, Volodymyr Zelensky was an actor on the humorous Ukrainian TV show Servant of the People, starring as an unlikely president of the Eastern European country. I'm now getting lapped by 5-year-olds (laughter). Anyone can read what you share. Only 28.2% of Ukrainians approve of President Volodymyr Zelensky's performance, . In May 2021, Zelenskyy stated that it was too early to say whether he will run for a second term, but this decision would depend on the attitude to him in society and would be influenced by his family. Well, I met someone in the street the other day who seemed to sum up why people are critical of him. The show must go on, of course. By submitting the above I agree to the privacy policy and terms of use of JTA.org. That prompted some to speculate whether that could include Ukrainian Jews. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. Furthermore, questions about his Jewishness have exploded into the international consciousness: Has his Jewish background put him or his fellow Ukrainian Jews in more danger? BBC News Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a comedian who had no experience of politics when elected less than three years ago, has suddenly emerged as a convincing war leader. move than serious policy. Accessed March 04, 2023. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1100076/volodymyr-zelensky-s-approval-rating-ukraine/. A fleece jacket worn and signed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sold for 90,000, or around $111,000, at a fundraiser for Ukraine in London on Thursday. Your conscience has been heard, and its been heard loudly, he said. : Comedians, Contrarians, Raconteurs & Vulgarians and host of . I'm about to lace up skates, and we'll tell you why. Of course, if hes martyred and there are certainly reports that there are agents of the Russian regime who would like either to capture or assassinate him I think his Jewishness will certainly be noted, Sarna said. Timeline of opinion polls in runup to the next Ukrainian presidential election, Opinion polling for the next Ukrainian presidential election, annexation of several southeastern Ukrainian oblasts, Opinion polling for the next Ukrainian parliamentary election, Opinion polling for the 2019 Ukrainian presidential election, Zelensky answered whether he would go for a second term, ": , ", "As it happened: Ukraine war latest: Resilience making Russia assess reality, negotiator says", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Opinion_polling_for_the_next_Ukrainian_presidential_election&oldid=1140803189, Articles with Ukrainian-language sources (uk), Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 21 February 2023, at 21:42. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky takes questions at a press conference on April 23, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Today, Zelensky commands a 96% approval rating in Ukraine and Ms. McGuffie, like many Ukrainians, is enthusiastically backing their president. More recently, a top lawmaker was caught on camera drunkenly offering a bribe to a police officer at the site of a car crash he might have caused. He later batted down an evacuation offer from the United States. Zelensky's brave response has made me reconsider. After winning the. Another poll released last week showed the president receiving a higher approval rating 47 percent following his first address to the nation, compared to 39 percent in February. To use individual functions (e.g., mark statistics as favourites, set And why is, After high school, Zelensky earned a scholarship to study in Israel on the strength of his English scores but turned it down because his father did not want him to go, according to. The statistic has been compiled from several reports by the source. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. And today he stands before you, Zelensky said in a speech during a January 2020 presidential trip to Israel, where he appeared with then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. First, President Volodymyr Zelensky commands a 94% approval rating. Prior to the invasion of Ukraine, there were doubts over whether the 44-year-old had the political nous to lead the country during an existential crisis. And he falls, I think, in the second category, but its not such a long list, and its certainly not that not long in Eastern Europe, he said. Ukraine is one of the few countries that elected a Jewish president, Oksana Markarova, the Ukraine ambassador to the United States, told the National Coalition Supporting Eurasian Jewry in a webinar on Friday. And when the reviews are bad, he stops listening and surrounds himself with fans. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has become the face of his country's spirited defense against Russian aggression. The claim: '15-minute city' planned in Ottawa will confine residents. . More than half of Americans have confidence in Macron and Scholz, while ratings for the Chinese leader remain unchanged from the past year at 15%. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. There are vocal opposition parties here. Older Americans are much more likely to hold those views than younger generations, as are those with more education (especially postgraduate degrees). A newsletter showcasing the finest writing from the ideas section, covering political ideas, philosophy, criticism and intellectual history - sent every Wednesday. hide caption. Ukraines gross domestic product grew by 3.5 percent last year, while anti-corruption efforts appeared to be a priority for the new ruling elite. Volodymyr Zelensky has become the epitome of an unlikely hero . The best of the best: the portal for top lists & rankings: Strategy and business building for the data-driven economy: Show sources information Kliment Ohridski. 77% of those surveyed said to have no confidence at all in Putin. Even the presidents beautiful newly built roads are mired in controversy. Now, he is. We keep circling the rink until we come across Max Vasylchuk (ph). But now the threat is total: Up to 190,000 Russian troops have amassed near Ukraines borders and in separatist regions, and an invasion, bringing devastation and disaster, could come at any time. Zelensky was born in a Russian-speaking area of eastern Ukraine to Jewish parents, a mother who was an engineer and a father who is a computer scientist. Details: For the survey, Pew asked 3,581 U.S. adults from March 21 to 27 about their confidence level in world leaders. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a comedian who had no experience of politics when elected less than three years ago, has suddenly emerged as a convincing war leader. has quickly become one of the most consequential and prominent Jewish world leaders in recent decades.