It’s all about preserving Duh-mock-racy!

Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag reported last week that an assessment by its country’s Federal Intelligence Service found that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is showing authoritarian characteristics and is attempting to eliminate his chief rival in next year’s election. 

The report said the assessment was presented to the Swiss government just a day before Switzerland announced that it will not provide Kyiv with its Leopard 1 tanks. (See “SWITZERLAND: NO THANKS, WE WON’T SEND UKRAINE TANKS,” 5 Jul 2023.)

Zelensky announced last month that elections will be postponed until 2024 because of the war. (See “DUH-MOCK-RACY IN ACTION: UKRAINE’S ZELENSKY POSTPONES ELECTIONS UNTIL AFTER WAR,” 5 Jul 2023.)

Zelensky found a loophole in the country’s constitution that states elections cannot be held while under martial law. Zelensky declared martial law on 24 February 2022, the day Russia invaded.

Al Mayadeen English reported that the Swiss intel has “credible intelligence” that Zelensky is trying to politically eliminate Kyiv mayor Vitaly Klitschko before the next election.

“In his attempt to eliminate Klitschko politically, Zelensky is showing authoritarian traits,” the intel report said, according to Swissinfo.ch. “It is very likely that Western states will exert pressure on the president and his entourage in this regard.”

Klitschko did not immediately respond to an email from The Trends Journal seeking comment.

Ulrich Schmid, a professor of Eastern European studies at the University of St. Gallen, in Switzerland, told the paper that Zelensky is popular among Ukrainians for his leadership under pressure.

“What are the prerequisites of a functioning democracy?” he asked. “Independent parties and a free press. Neither is present in Ukraine at the moment. This development is not surprising [as] wars strengthen the executive.”

Zelensky’s relationship with the mayor has been strained for years, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace wrote. Zelensky blamed the mayor for long blackouts in the capital in the early stages of the war, and Klitschko—without naming names—of “political dances.”

Last month, Klitschko blamed Zelensky’s government of slowing the effort by his city by orchestrating endless searches in bomb shelters. 

“Have we already won? Are there no other challenges, is Klitschko the main problem? And someone is itching to take control of the capital again,” the mayor said, according to The Kyiv Post. “But you are making Kyiv residents hostage to the political struggle.”

TRENDPOST: This week’s “Celente & the Judge” focused, in part, on how governments rarely cede any power once attained, and how liberties, once curtailed, don’t ever come back.  

We’ve seen the erosion of fundamental rights under Zelensky. He has cracked down on religions and has a stranglehold on the media under the auspices of protecting the public from pro-Russian propaganda. (See “ORTHODOX MONKS IN UKRAINE REFUSE ZELENSKY’S EVICTION ORDER” 4 Apr 2023 and “ZELENSKY TO UKRAINIAN MEDIA: I OWN YOU” 10 Jan 2023.)