Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday he would tolerate no corruption or treachery in affairs of state while his country is struggling to find the means to defend itself against Russian invaders.
Perception trends at least tell us something, especially when a country is compared with itself over time. Ukraine’s has improved remarkably. Yes there are limits to perception polls, but that is one of the few universal metrics.
As for Zelensky, a few things. First, he was in the Pandora Papers, not the Panama Papers. Second, just because someone is in either the Pandora or Panama Papers does not mean that they were engaged in wrongdoing. So for now, I’m withholding judgement on him being a “massive fascist crook”.
Perception trends at least tell us something, especially when a country is compared with itself over time. Ukraine’s has improved remarkably. Yes there are limits to perception polls, but that is one of the few universal metrics.
As for Zelensky, a few things. First, he was in the Pandora Papers, not the Panama Papers. Second, just because someone is in either the Pandora or Panama Papers does not mean that they were engaged in wrongdoing. So for now, I’m withholding judgement on him being a “massive fascist crook”.
Ukrainians during wartime are reporting that everything’s fine. That’s all you have. On the other hand we have many situations like this:
US/UK investors with contacts to Zelenskyy’s office offer to buy a company for 1/3 of its value
owner declines
cops show up, seize the company
This is like 1990s Russia on steroids.
Zelensky and team stole at least $400 million of US aid – Seymour Hersh