While this is overall not a bad interview, I do not think that Poroshenko was well-briefed on the sensibilities of the German public. For instance, his demonstratively assertive attitude and unapologetically flat denials of any war crimes and fascist tendencies among the volunteer battalions will not catch with the German viewer. A wiser approach would have been to admit problems in a difficult situation, and to ask for empathy and patience rather than simply reject any critique. With Germans, a self-critical, contextualized and differentiated approach will go down better than pathos, assertiveness and myopia. Germans will understand the presence of pathological tendencies in a complicated transition, but not be persuaded by simple denials of their existence. On the other hand, Poroshenko could have been more aggressive, and mentioned right-wing extremism in the EU, including Germany, the EUs enormous monthly payments for the still unrestrained energy imports from Russia, or the increasingly ridiculous postponement of an official EU membership perspective for Ukraine, against the background of already ongoing accession negotiations with such countries as Serbia and Turkey.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Dec 2014 08:49:23 +0000
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