A hero of peace on one side, a symbol of war and resistance in Ukraine on the other. Pope Francis and Volodymyr Zelensky are among those voted Person of the Year in 2023. In the event of the year, wars (in the East and Middle East) dominate.
Pope Francis and the Gaza War were voted Person of the Year and International Event of the Year by JE readers, respectively.
These are some of the results of the online voting promoted by JE in the last days of this year, which helped us understand which, according to our readers, are the most decisive personalities and events that will definitely mark the current year. Conclusion Check all the results in the print edition of JE or on the digital platforms of the newspaper.
Personality of the year: Pope Francis and Gelenzi side by side
Pope Francis and the President of Ukraine received the most votes for International Personality of the Year in this poll. The head of the Catholic Church received 34.4% of the vote and the president of Ukraine 31.9%.
Antonio Guterres, one of the best protagonists of world geopolitics at the end of the year, received 19% of the vote, especially for his statements about the events in Israel on October 7 (which caused him strong attacks from the Israeli authorities). Christine Lagarde (5%), Javier Mili (4%), Benjamin Netanyahu (4%), Jerome Powell (2%) and Joe Biden (1%) were far from the podium.
Event of the year: Two wars and the AI took over
From the wars in Gaza and Ukraine to artificial intelligence, including the collapse of banks in the US and the rise of Javier Mille in Argentina, JE's event of the year poll touched on many fronts, although four events united readers' preferences. .
Opening “hostilities” in this referendum are two battles. The conflict in Gaza was the international event of the year for the majority of JE readers with 41.9% of the vote, while the war in Ukraine lost some prominent roles at 19.6%.
The evolution of artificial intelligence received 18.5% of readers' preference (which leads us to believe that AI has not interfered in this poll) while the inflationary crisis received 14.2 votes. The end of Credit Suisse (1.9%), Javier Mille's return to a volatile “seat of power” in Argentina (1.9%), the decline of Silicon Valley in the US (1%) and trade tensions between China and the US (1%) are some of the events highlighted in the poll.