The path of the country

[motico]

Please, check if the following passage is grammatically correct. Thanks!

Within three weeks the president has lost power and been forced to step down. From now on, the issue ceases to be the president's personal fate and becomes the issue of the path of the country and the future of its revolution. The fall of one of the most veteran and the most powerful rulers in the region, following waves of mass demonstrations, has created the feeling among many that the matter in question is a historical revolution that could be compared to the French Revolution or at least – to revolutions in Eastern Europe that have toppled, one by one, longstanding communist regimes in this part of the world.

[5jj]

Please, check if the following passage is grammatically correct. Thanks!

Within three weeks the president has lost power and been forced to step down. From now on, the issue ceases to be the president's personal fate and becomes the issue of the path of the country and the future of its revolution. The fall of one of the most veteran and the most powerful rulers in the region, following waves of mass demonstrations, has created the feeling among many that the matter in question is a historical revolution that could be compared to the French Revolution or at least – to revolutions in Eastern Europe that have toppled, one by one, longstanding communist regimes in this that part of the world.

Fine, though I don't like 'most veteran'. Just 'veteran' or 'longest-serving' spring to mind.