Vitaly Portnikov: American Kolomoisky

Almost three years ago, Ukrainians, like Americans in 2016, elected a large head of state a large entrepreneur-Petro Poroshenko. On this, however, the analogies between Donald Trump and Peter Poroshenko end. For several decades in a row, the Ukrainian president was engaged not only in business, but also with current policy, without which it is not so easy to save the business itself. At the same time, unlike the so -called Ukrainian oligarchs, he was not limited to the mandate of the parliamentary deputy, like Rinat Akhmetov, or by the organization of conferences, as Viktor Pinchuk. Poroshenko managed to visit the Secretary of the National Security Council, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Minister of Economics. And although the time of his stay in each of the offices was not very long, but by the time the president was elected, he knew very well how the Ukrainian government was functioning.

With whom you can really compare Trump - so it is with another famous Ukrainian entrepreneur, Igor Kolomoisky. A businessman who has never held public posts and has not even ran for parliament, against the backdrop of the Russian invasion to the east of Ukraine became the head of the key administration for the stability of the Dnipropetrovsk region and organized assistance to volunteer battalions and resistance to the aggressor. But Kolomoisky’s political positions were strong only in the midst of the crisis. When the situation was a little stabilized, it turned out that this cunning "oligarch" in political intrigues is significantly inferior to the past management school Poroshenko. As a result, Kolomoisky was not only forced to resign from the post of head of the regional administration, but also agreed with the departure of his nominees from similar posts in other regions of the country. Kolomoisky was forced to limit himself to the role of an influential entrepreneur familiar to himself - and there is a feeling that in this role he feels much more comfortable than in the post of the Dnipropetrovsk governor.

But the "American Kolomoisky" cannot just take it and resign, abandoning the oval office. The position of the President of the United States is an honor, duty and burden. Therefore, the 70-year-old Trump will have to do what Kolomoisky clearly did not want to do, to learn the science of political management. It is clear how difficult such a study is for a person who is accustomed to succeed in a completely different field, in a completely different managerial world. Areas that are more dissimilar to each other from a managerial point of view than politics and business (with all the seemingly similarity), there is simply no. And if in countries with transitional management systems, such as Ukraine or Russia, these areas often close together and form ugly symbiosis, then real democracies, such as the United States, derive policies and business into different corners of the ring. Igor Kolomoisky did not succeed in Ukrainian politics precisely because at the time of his arrival in power (and this was in the post -Maidan Ukraine) the country abandoned the criminal management model and turned into that very “folk democracy”, which Donald Trump was so emotionally spoke of in its inauguration. And in such a "folk democracy" an experienced politician always wins the experienced businessman. And the United States is clearly not an exception to this rule.

To confirm his success to the businessman, the showman and the successful fighter in the electoral ring, Donald Trump needs to learn how to learn the art of public administration and political maneuvering, the ability to find not only a spectacular, but also the right decision, find not only loyal, but also effective associates and allies. Next to him (and against him) there will be more than one "American Poroshenko", as in the case of Kolomoisky. There will be dozens of such Poroshenko - in the administration, in the House of Representatives, in the Senate, in the leadership of key departments. You can, of course, look at these people through the gap of the doors of the oval cabinet, but from this view their knowledge and experience will not disappear. And it is very important whether this knowledge and experience will work for the success of the new president or against his luck.

Whatever the choice of Donald Trump, it is important that the Americans, and with them the rest of the world, become witnesses of a unique experiment, which Ukrainians lost with the departure from the political scene of Igor Kolomoisky - the transformation of a successful businessman into a statesman. I have no doubt that this will be the most exciting show of Donald Trump.

Vitaly Portnikov - Kiev journalist, author and host of the Radio Liberty program "Road to Freedom"

Opinions expressed under the heading "Law" may not reflect the point of view of the Radio Liberty editorial