Poroshenko Struggling to Find Message for Voters – Chatham House Expert

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is struggling to find a concrete message for voters, says Chatham House Associate Fellow John Lough.

Speaking to Hromadske at the 2018 YES Conference in Kyiv, Lough said that all the candidates and potential competitors gave very different speeches.

“The one from the president was strong in terms of his personal commitment, and it was very loud,” he said about the incumbent, “but he’s clearly struggling to find a message, a platform.”

“Certainly the most passionate was Yulia Tymoshenko,” he said.

Tymoshenko is a former prime minister who is now a leading opposition figure in Ukraine.

“She is clearly going to be strong campaigner, she can speak well, she can manage the audience well. But she struggled with some questions,” said Lowe.

Photo credit: HROMADSKE

Tymoshenko has served time in prison for alleged abuse of office, but was released after the Maidan revolution. The United States and the European Union denounced her trial as politically-motivated.

Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, a prominent Ukrainian musician and former politician, also drew praise.

“As far as Vakarchuk, I think he’s a big mystery. He radiates a certain charm, freshness, humor.. But he remains tantalizing vague…,” he said.

/By Li Ping Luo