Isaac Ewers 4/9/19 The state of politics is, well, odd. With Donald Trump, a TV host and billionaire with little to no political experience being elected in 2016, if you thought things couldn’t get more interesting you would be wrong. Que the Ukrainian Presidential Election. Not only is this the first Presidential election since the Revolution in 2014, in which then Russian-backed Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych was overthrown and current president Petro Poroshenko was elected, but this is also the first election in which drastic change could be taken towards Ukrain’s already hardset stance towards Russia and the annexation of Crimea. So what makes this so outrageous? A 41 year old man Volodymyr Zelensky. In a first round voting on March 31, he won the majority of votes with 30.24%. Due to this not being complete majority, re elections are to be held on April 21, 2019. But just who is he? Well, a quick Google search pulls up a page about a Ukrainian Screenwriter. That can’t be right, right? It’s true. Zelensky is one of the most popular screenwriters and actors in Ukraine right now. He has appeared and starred in a host of Ukraine movies and shows, with his most popular currently being a series called “Servant of the People”. This show’s premise revolves around a highschool teacher (Zelensky) who is fed up with politics and decides to run (and win) for presidency. Yes. Yes this is real. What’s more is Zelensky has embraced his media-driven drive towards presidency. His only political experience has been endorsing the Ukrainian Revolution in 2014, so he comes into the race fresh and as someone the people of Ukraine seem to view very favorably. He has even created the name for his party based on his show, called the Servant of the People Party. Indeed, the shows premise has done more than inspire his candidacy, but it has been the basis for his platform. His show is becoming real life.
Ukrainian casualties, and Zelensky runs with promises to take a harder approach to the ongoing Ukrainian and Russian conflict.
What does this mean for future politics? That's the questions. We are in an interesting time in history, one in which the diffusion of social media seems so have created a new dynamic to politics. First with Trump, now with Zelensky, it is easy to see just how strong a media influence may have on voters. What is key now, however, it to look to future politics to see just how key media may be in gaining followers and support. As of now, Zelensky is in the path towards victory. His betting odds put him ahead of Poroshenko, and Ukrainian media and public seem to support him.
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