It took President Zelenskyy one year to reveal his reactionary nature. However, there is enough evidence that foremost he might be blatantly incompetent. It is rumoured that during his meeting with the IDPs from eastern Ukraine, the latter had to explain him the dire consequences of the Russian aggression (ruined housing and infrastructure, dismantled plants etc.) that make projects of fast war ending and region re-integration unfeasible.Due to the lack of common ideology, Zelenskyy "The Servant of the People" Party is heavily fragmented into groups of interest/influence. Parliamentary voting demonstrates that MPs search for additional motivation to support governmental bills, which often takes form of bribes and "remunerations" provided by oligarchs and vested interests. Meanwhile, MPs and Ministers make the most daunting statements and announce unforeseen initiatives, e.g. revision of the language policy or cancellation of lustration. While Zelenskyy declares general movement to the EU and NATO and appoints quite a strong team for foreign affairs, his Head of Presidential Office Yermak disrupts those plans by often acting in the vein of the Russian interests.
While in 2019 Zelenskyy's team seemed to have relied on public opinion polls trying to cater to the general public, their actions in 2020 became much more business-motivated. The appointment of Serhii Shkralet acting Minister of Education and Science is quite a case:
- long search for a candidate, ignoring field experts and civil society;
- multiple strange interviews with prospective candidates behind closed doors;
- disregard of public outcry against Serhii Shkralet;
- taking no notice of the Committee on Education ,Science and Innovations of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine that did not support Serhii Shkralet;
- appointment of Serhii Shkralet acting Minster by the decision of the Government;
- persecutions of the scholars and scientists that participated in protests meeting against Serhii Shkralet.
It feels that Zelenskyy himself is disappointed. He seems to find it unfair that people associate his Presidency with the period of the stagnating coronavirus-hit economy. He fails to deliver actual reforms though falling under the influence of the oligarchs.