Courtesy of The Automatic Earth.
National Photo Co. Janes’ candy store, Ninth Street, Washington, D.C. 1924
Boxing champ Vitali Klitschko, who was reportedly the most popular opposition leader in Ukraine during the Maidan protests before Yanukovych was chased away, and was then shunned by the west as interim PM in favor of banker-boy Yatsenyuk, this morning announced he’s no longer a candidate in the presidential elections in May. Instead, he’ll throw his heavyweight behind Ukraine’s own Willy Wonka, candy man Petro Poroshenko, known locally as the ‘chocolate king’. Poroshenko, who officially announced his candidacy yesterday, made billions in the confectionery business.
It would appear the only competitor for the presidency that remains is Yulia Tymoshenko, who became a billionaire herself through an opaque monopoly in – Russian – gas deliveries. Isn’t it lovely, a country that will soon be driven to its knees through austerity is certain to be governed by billionaires.
Poroshenko has been moving through a political revolving door, coming and going in and out of parliament and successive governments, since 1998. He’s currently an independent member of parliament, which gives him a Teflon-like quality that may come in handy if ever anyone investigates recent Ukraine politics. No confirmation yet on Victoria Nuland’s approval, but that’s undoubtedly long been arranged.
Not that everything will go down smoothly between now and the May 25 election. The Ukraine parliament is seeking to ban the Right Sector, though its support was important in executing the “coup”, and there’s not that much wiggle room between that group and the Svoboda one that is actually part of the interim government. Both lean towards what we would label far right, and have at some time used symbols that we would label highly undesirable.
Will the Right Sector simply evaporate just because parliament wants to ban it? Who’s going to make it? Who has a real grip on power in Ukraine over the next two months? The army looks to be in a bit of a shambles, with large numbers having “defected” to Russia, there doesn’t seem to be a very effective police force, and there are all sorts of militia ‘roaming’ the country on both sides of the pro/contra Russia divide. Who’s going to stop the well armed militia, rapidly filling up with – economically and ideologically – desperate young men, from instigating mayhem if they don’t get what they want?
At least Putin still has his troops at the border.
