Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Is Kiev’s ex-boxer mayor tough enough for the new job?
France24 ^ | 5/30/2014 | France24

Posted on 05/31/2014 6:35:01 AM PDT by mac_truck

Just days after his May 25 election victory, former boxing champion Vitaly Klitschko gets his first outing as mayor of the Ukrainian capital of Kiev.

The 6ft 7in boxer-turned-protest leader-turned mayor is perfectly at ease on stage. But as soon as he plunges into the crowd, tensions mount.

"You've got to deal with all these banks that refuse to give us our money back," says a woman, referring to the fall in the value of the national currency.

Klitschko tries to enter the parliament building, but he's stopped by mothers of conscripts serving in the east of the country.

"We ask the mayor to bring back our boys safely, in good health, and not in coffins. We don't want them to become cannon fodder," says a mother holding up a banner.

These are tough demands, which leave the new mayor nonplussed. Klitschko now wears two hats – one as mayor and another as an MP. He’s come a long way since his days as the charismatic opposition leader at Kiev’s Maidan, the heartland of the Ukrainian protest movement.

(Excerpt) Read more at france24.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: kiev; klitschko; maidan; ukraine
Video at link.
1 posted on 05/31/2014 6:35:01 AM PDT by mac_truck
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: mac_truck

Ukraine needs all the “luck” and blessings it can get.

Maybe it needs leaders that are like tenacious prize fighters in order to prevail through this chaos.


2 posted on 05/31/2014 6:43:21 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: HiTech RedNeck

Luck and blessings...is that anything like hope and change?


3 posted on 05/31/2014 7:50:15 AM PDT by mac_truck ( Aide toi et dieu t aidera)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: mac_truck

Well, he is not an Oligarch, which is a good start for the locals.

What they need is figurehead to rally around, to get past the violence, and they have one in the Klitchko’s


4 posted on 05/31/2014 9:03:15 AM PDT by tcrlaf (Q)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: tcrlaf
Well, he is not an Oligarch, which is a good start for the locals.

Lol..aren't the Maidan squatters considered 'locals' now also?

IIRC the last time Klitschko triyed to tell them what to do he got sprayed in the face with a fire extinguisher.

5 posted on 05/31/2014 9:16:52 AM PDT by mac_truck ( Aide toi et dieu t aidera)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: mac_truck
Luck and blessings...is that anything like hope and change?

No. Do you have any more questions?

6 posted on 05/31/2014 9:35:56 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: mac_truck

He has the support of people. There were elections and Klitchko scored a knockout victory there.


7 posted on 05/31/2014 2:07:22 PM PDT by Krosan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: 1rudeboy
Do you have any more questions?

Yeah...when was the last time you posted an personal opinion or expressed a position or stated a political preference at Free Republic?

AFAICS the closest you came this month was a post defending Bill Clinton over NAFTA.

8 posted on 05/31/2014 3:39:55 PM PDT by mac_truck ( Aide toi et dieu t aidera)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: mac_truck

You mean Ronald Reagan over NAFTA, right?


9 posted on 05/31/2014 7:00:09 PM PDT by 1rudeboy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: 1rudeboy
No...RR was never under attack on that thread, Clinton and NAFTA were.

You chose to defend Clinton from criticism about NAFTA by offering Reagan as an alternative target.

I also notice you haven't answered my question about the lack of personal opinions, positions, or political affirmations in your posting history.

Whats up with that?

10 posted on 06/01/2014 5:38:31 AM PDT by mac_truck ( Aide toi et dieu t aidera)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: mac_truck
If some protectionist attacks NAFTA by claiming it was Clinton's idea, I will continue to (correctly) point out that it was Reagan's idea.

Despite your rhetorical gymnastics, that does not make me a defender of Clinton but rather a defender of Reagan.

11 posted on 06/01/2014 9:44:19 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: 1rudeboy
That's a great cover story.

Meanwhile...

I also notice you haven't answered my question about the lack of personal opinions, positions, or political affirmations in your posting history.

Tick, tick, tick...

12 posted on 06/01/2014 11:19:00 AM PDT by mac_truck ( Aide toi et dieu t aidera)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: mac_truck
Piss off about the "cover story." You want to take the argument up on the thread where it happened, be my guest. I will continue to point out that NAFTA was Reagan's idea, on any thread where the issue comes up. So if you're lazy, just wait.

And I'll also take this opportunity to remind anyone who actually cares that they can guess my "personal opinions, positions, or political affirmations" by reading my history.

13 posted on 06/01/2014 12:06:08 PM PDT by 1rudeboy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: 1rudeboy; All
I'll also take this opportunity to remind anyone who actually cares that they can guess my "personal opinions, positions, or political affirmations" by reading my history.

Lol...and I told you I already took a dumpster dive through a whole months worth of your posts and haven't found more than a single opinion, position or political affirmation worth mentioning...which is why I asked you about it in the first place.

For someone who spends so much time here taking shots at other people and their political positions, your own oeuvre is remarkably thin.

Why is that?

14 posted on 06/01/2014 4:19:18 PM PDT by mac_truck ( Aide toi et dieu t aidera)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: mac_truck

I’m having a good laugh imagining you scrolling through 900+ articles and 62,000+ replies and thinking that I’m “thin.”


15 posted on 06/01/2014 7:16:43 PM PDT by 1rudeboy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson