Zelenskyy is the most infuential person in Europe in 2023, or how Ukrainian media published last year's Politico rating

Numerous Ukrainian media outlets are buzzing with the headline, “Zelenskyy is the most powerful person in Europe in 2023, and Putin is the loser of the year, according to Politico.” 

The journalists emphasize that this revelation was reported by Politico, known for “annually creating rankings through an analysis of European personalities.”

However, this news might confuse discerning readers, such as ourselves. The crux of the matter lies in a detail in the original Politico publication - “Originally published on December 7, 2022”.

What does this mean? 

Well, Zelenskyy was indeed named the most influential person in Europe in 2023 according to Politico. 

But, this news is stale; it’s nearly a year old. The original article, dated December 7, 2022, underwent numerous revisions. Compare the versions yourself.

This ranking found its way onto the official website of the President of Ukraine on December 8, 2022, where they quoted verbatim from the article that Ukrainian media is buzzing about today. 

“What Zelenskyy has done is to convince the rest of Europe that its future is linked to Ukraine. Few believed this before Russia’s invasion in February. His communication skills have been a key factor. His rhetoric has sharply highlighted the malevolence of the Russian regime that he’s fighting, dispelling the belief of many European countries - especially Berlin and Paris - that Moscow can be a partner.”

Don’t ask why Politico published the 2023 ranking preceding the actual year. They may have a predictive approach, and we’re actively investigating this angle for a forthcoming update to this post.

Meanwhile, Politico promises to release the 2024 rankings on November 28, 2023 (“Our ranking of the most powerful people for 2024 will be announced on November 28”), as stated in the aforementioned post