The show must go on - think piece

You wouldn't want to be in Volodymyr Zelensky's shoes right now - or ever.

Assailed as he is by a megalomaniac President on one side (and I don't mean Donald Trump - although, come to think of it...) and fairweather European 'friends' on the other, the beleaguered Ukrainian leader finds himself in an unenviable position. It must be at least three years since he started seriously questioning the wisdom of giving up the comedy circuit for politics. He and his country have had precious little to laugh about since Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and even less since the full-scale assault of 2022.

His role now, in response to Trump's second presidency, seems to be to shadow American diplomacy, popping up unexpectedly firstly in Munich after the US delegation had departed the Security Conference, then tailing them to the UAE before swerving Saudi Arabia for a meeting with Türkiye's President Erdoğan. Like those other famous characters with names beginning with the last letter of the alphabet, Zorro and Zelig, he has become ubiquitous. The American and Russian negotiators must be looking about them nervously for the Z etched on the wall.

But what else can he do other than make a nuisance of himself? If the Yanks and Ruskies persist in cutting him out of the deal all he can do is haunt them in an attempt to queer their pitch. Trump, Putin and Starmer may be trying to cosplay Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill but this isn't Yalta and Zelensky isn't about to let them draw lines on his country's map without his input. Even if that means pressing his nose against the window or scratching at the door to make them feel uncomfortable.

Because, for Ukraine, this is existential. Zelensky may have to accept, reluctantly, parts of his country remaining under Russian control for the foreseeable in order to preserve the integrity and autonomy of the greater part, but that won't mean conceding defeat. Nor should it. Trump won't be in the White House forever, or Putin in the Kemlin, so Zelensky needs to play a long game. 

Aged 47, he is the young kid on the block, giving every appearance of having the stamina, and steely determination, to see the old men out. As an ex-stand-up, he just needs to stay standing.Той сміється останнім, хто довше сміється.

He laughs last, who laughs longest...


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