Veik has a point that TonyG did focus on using Ishukone as the "Good Guys" in the novels, and tended to throw in things much opposed to what was previously established PF. He even contradicted his own PF by portraying Gariushi as a bleeding heart in The Empyrean Age, compared to the slick-rick scheming bastard he was in the Creliere story. He followed it up by making Reppola seem more like an emotionally withered man completely unsuited for the job of CEO, despite being a career executive beforehand.
But perhaps it only seems so in comparison to Gariushi, widely credited as one of Ishukone's greatest. Especially when compared to one of the greatest Chief Executives in Caldari history: Kaalakiota's Hatakaan Oiritsuu. It may in fact be that a vast majority Caldari CEOs are comparable to Mens Reppola, while people like Gariushi and Oiritsuu are the stuff of legend because they are so ridiculously rare.
I think the issue is that prior to Tony G it felt like that Ishukone only played nice with the foreigners because it was PR that they didn't actually believe in. For Caldari that seems appropriate and in-line with their thinking: screwing over the fucking foreigners with a smiling face while you stab them in the back for your own benefit? Admirable cunning right there. It was a sort of unspoken aspect of: "We Caldari know what you're doing Ishukone but those blind idealists don't. Good job." With Tony G and into today, the impression that's given is that Ishukone
actually believes their own propaganda of being nice, friendly, and seeking win/win scenarios with non-Caldari - sometimes to their own detriment.
I mean in terms of domestic politics, it could be seen that Ishukone has survived by playing upon the partisanship and conflict between KK/Patriots and SuVee/Practicals in the CEP and that so long as they're both focused on each other then Ishukone and the Liberals can exist in the space between. Right now however, it looks like Ishukone has managed to shaft KK by leaving them out in the cold with their deals with the Federation forcing them to have to sort out the mess of the war and the blind auction debacle in addition to potentially causing SuVee to look at the profitability of its territorial deals with the Intaki and its ownership of Caldari Prime (also by making deals with the Fed) as Ishukone moving into its traditional portfolio.
The Caldari Megas are more than willing to screw each other over, but that's usually one at a time, and Ishukone having broken ranks to negotiate their own terms with the Fed for their own benefit and advantage looks like it's also managed to screw over practically everyone else in the State that still have to foot the bills for the war and find themselves with lost trade opportunities abroad.
It might or might not be significant that not a single other Megacorp. CEO provided commentary on something as stated to have been significant as the Malkalen attack in the current article. Not even Hyasyoda that in the past usually did.