Well, think about that

Ukraine election set to deliver damning verdict on traditional politics

Subtitle: Likely election of comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy propelled by anti-establishment vote

There’s a 90% chance he’ll be a disaster, but I’m going to vote for him anyway,” said Alyona Sych, a 36-year-old nurse, strolling through Kyiv in the spring sunshine and explaining why she plans to vote for an untested actor and comedian in Ukraine’s presidential election on Sunday.

“I know 100% that the current guy is a disaster, so of course I’ll go for the 10% chance we could really change things.”

For three seasons of the popular Ukrainian television show Servant of the People, Volodymyr Zelenskiy has played a frustrated everyman teacher, implausibly propelled to the country’s presidency.

Now he’s standing for the job for real, and most polls give him a commanding lead over the incumbent, Petro Poroshenko. 

By Sunday evening, Zelenskiy could have secured a fourth season as president, but his first one in real life.

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Most, like Sych, say they are voting for him as a gamble that he cannot be any worse than the status quo.

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At Friday’s unorthodox debate between Zelenskiy and Poroshenko, held inside Kyiv’s Olympic Stadium at Zelenskiy’s insistence, the shallowness of real support for him was visible: while Poroshenko filled out his section, Zelenskiy was cheered on by a meagre contingent of fans. 

It was another sign that if he wins, it will be a triumph not of dedicated Zelenskiy backers, but of an anti-Poroshenko, anti-establishment vote, fixing on to Zelenskiy as the default alternative.

“I’m not your opponent, I’m a verdict on you. I am the result of your mistakes,” Zelenskiy told Poroshenko on the stage, reinforcing the point.

Poroshenko has said that while Zelenskiy’s showmanship might make for good entertainment, it would be suicidal for a country at war.

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The problem for Poroshenko is that for the majority of Ukrainians, especially those outside the capital, this country is not one they know. 

Millions have already voted with their feet, fleeing the country in search of better wages, some eastwards to Russia, others to Poland and further west.

Poroshenko has portrayed the visa-free agreement he signed with the Schengen group of EU countries as a major achievement, but it’s of little use to millions who can’t afford to travel. 

Utility bills have risen sharply, infrastructure remains poor, and the judiciary remains corrupt and beholden to political and business interests.

A last-ditch attempt by Poroshenko to tap into nationalist sentiment and portray the Russophone Zelenskiy as a Kremlin stooge has fallen flat, with most Ukrainians apparently favouring the softer, more tolerant vision of Ukrainianness that Zelenskiy represents.

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“He [Zelinskiy] doesn’t really have any idea of practical solutions to real issues, it’s just a set of phrases. It’s crazy,” said one western diplomat in Kyiv.

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The way Zelenskiy has been able to leapfrog traditional politicians, with their party infrastructure and refined campaign strategies, is testament to the fact that real democracy is flourishing in Ukraine, unlike in most of the rest of the former Soviet space. 

Many Russians and Belorussians watched Friday’s debate with envy, imagining what it would be like to see their own leaders subjected to a stadium grilling.

But it is also a shocking indictment of the current political class.

Bollocks.

It's an indictment of institutions that permit utter amateurs to compete for the most important job in the nation, and an indictment of voters stupid enough to give him the job.

It is a proof there is too much democracy in their constitutional arrangements and ours, and a reminder that half the people are of below average intelligence.

It is almost as bad as the Athenians allowing some offices to be filled by lot.