Politics doesn’t end in wartime, even when it has been subsumed by more immediate, existential matters. With the passage of time, Winston Churchill’s wartime leadership can appear as if it were unassailable – yet in reality, criticism grew loud enough that the House of Commons held two votes of confidence in 1942.
Though some have compared Volodymyr Zelenskiy to Churchill, the Ukrainian president will be grateful that he has not faced anything approaching that kind of challenge. The “rally round the flag” effect, along with his charisma, effective diplomacy and personal courage as Russia invaded, created a remarkably enduring mood of national unity. Even those criticising the decisions or conduct of those around the president shrank from questioning his. But by last autumn, it was clear that the country was seeing the return of politics. It is still far from business as usual. But Mr Zelenskiy’s decision to fire Ukraine’s admired commander-in-chief, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, on Thursday has turned up the volume.
