Agreed. Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand is pretty impressive. Just read about Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's president in a long article in the New Yorker. Fascinating.
My heart aches for what our government has been and continues to put Ukraine through. What a great read, thank for you sharing that.
She's certainly charming. At the same time, there are fewer people in New Zealand than there are in Alabama... and about as many people in New Zealand as there are in British Columbia. National politics when your country is a disappointing prime-time TV audience can be a lot more agile than when you're stretched across six time zones.
You're right. New Zealand is not a major force in the world. But it is a member of the commonwealth. So maybe she can exert some influence there.The Commonwealth comprises 53 countries, across all continents. The members have a combined population of 2.4 billion people, almost a third of the world population, of whom 1.26 billion live in India, 220 million live in Pakistan and 94% live in Asia and Africa combined.
Ugh, you're so right, it was a massive bit of obtuseness on my part to not think of Zelensky. Everything I've read about him makes him sound like the best thing to come along in Ukraine for a looooong time. Well, save the whole "playing a president on TV" thing, which hits a little too close to home, but hey, turns out his heart is probably in the right place. That's why it's especially tragic that Trump has put him between a hundred rocks and a thousand hard places.
When thinking about Zelensky, I thought he's in over his head... but then I remembered the great quote from ... someone: If you're not in over your head, you won't know how tall you are. "In over your head" is an expression used by bullies and fascists to put down those who are struggling against powerful enemies.
It's a T.S. Elliot quote (I cheated w/ Google). Seems like it's true even in the event of failure. Everyone fails, life is mostly a matter of how we choose to react to those failures (so cliché, but unfortunately true). Zelensky has walked a verrrrry fine line, but the exact timing of the whistleblower's complaint finally reaching congress in early September was fortuitous. Zelensky had been effectively strong-armed by Trump, and booked a CNN slot to announce an investigation into the Bidens, but the military aid was released in the interim. It's actually another piece of evidence demonstrating how crucial the aid is considered by Ukraine. I wouldn't consider it a failure by Zelensky. He clearly didn't want to do it, but had no choice.