record-breaking 254 deputies, plucked from the nation.
Mr Zelensky and his Servant of the People party have promised to make their revolution a “nice” one. The
Servants – all of them new to frontline politics – say they will reset the country from the scourge of
corruption. Boost incomes for the second-poorest nation of Europe. Introduce a more honest kind of
politics.
But critics point to the team’s inexperience, and an approach to political enemies that, they say, is not
entirely out of sync with 1917. As the Servants celebrate their victory, Ukraine’s former leaders are
certainly getting used to very different lives. If Mr Zelensky’s team carries through a key pre-election
pledge to expand lustration laws, all former MPs will be barred from public office.
Vitali Klitschko, a former boxer, ally of Zelensky’s predecessor Petro Poroshenko, and Mayor of Kiev, is
engaged in a battle for his political life. He seems likely to lose control over local government to one of Mr
Zelensky’s men. At a press conference this week, Mr Klitschko said he would fight for his position in the
courts, walking back a promise to call a new election made before the unexpected Zelensky landslide.
Kiev’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, an ally of
outgoing president Petro Poroshenko, is in a
fight for his political life (EPA)But most striking of all, Poroshenko, Ukraine’s fifth president, is being forced to give evidence in a dozen
cases brought against him over alleged abuses of power. The accusations cover the whole range – from
alleged tax evasion in the sale of a shipbuilding yard to alleged treason over the sea clashes with Russia in
November, which were followed with an attempt impose full-scale martial law.
There is no love lost between the Zelensky camp and Mr Poroshenko. They fought a bitter presidential
campaign. The new administration does not hide its anger at the outgoing leader’s attempt to portray Mr
Zelensky as a Kremlin and oligarchic stooge.
Officially, Mr Zelensky’s office plays no part in the criminal investigations against the former president.
The prosecutions are mostly being pushed by Andriy Portnov, a powerful lawyer and a former deputy head
of the Yanukovych administration. But there are enough informal links – Mr Portnov is close to Andriy
Bohdan, Zelensky’s pugnacious chief of staff, and described in some quarters as his teacher – to raise
suspicions.
Many believe the new administration will be unable to resist public demand for a conviction.
“Europe may squeal at the prospect of prosecuting a political opponent, but I think Zelensky is minded to
go for it,” says Valery Kalnysh, the host of one of Ukraine’s most influential political radio shows. “There
are three reasons why it makes sense for him: first, Poroshenko got filthy rich during his presidency;
second, state investigators are no longer scared to probe; and third, a moment of personal revenge.”