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Ukraine election: Comedian Zelensky wins presidency by landslide
Ukrainian comedian Volodymyr Zelensky has won a landslide victory in the country's presidential election, exit polls suggest.
The polls give the political newcomer, who dominated the first round of voting three weeks ago, more than 70% support.
Mr Zelensky, 41, challenged incumbent president Petro Poroshenko who has admitted defeat. The apparent result is being seen as a huge blow to Mr Poroshenko and a rejection of Ukraine's establishment.
"I will never let you down," Mr Zelensky told celebrating supporters on Sunday. "I'm not yet officially the president," he added. "But as a citizen of Ukraine I can say to all countries in the post-Soviet Union: Look at us. Anything is possible!"
See also: Ukrainian Presidential Debate Sparks Envy Among Russians And Belarusians – OpEd
(Score: 5, Insightful) by richtopia on Monday April 22 2019, @03:29PM (3 children)
I'm typically anti-establishment, so a comedian president seems like a mix-up of an institutionalized system. Given the large margin of victory, I suspect the Ukranian people have similar emotions.
Now, almost any other country I would be very cheerful for this outcome. But the Ukraine has an on-going armed conflict and territory occupied by another nation, not to mention a difficult economic position. If you were loading a scenario in "Presidential Ruler Simulator 2019" this would be somewhere around the harder difficulty setting.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 22 2019, @04:38PM (2 children)
Comedians are typically not dumb, so there is hope.
(Score: 2) by driverless on Tuesday April 23 2019, @01:53PM (1 child)
They're also not experienced politicians, which is what's needed to handle the Ukraine's made-in-Moscow war. In peacetime a popular, close-to-the-people leader is a fine thing, but in a crisis and having to make tough decisions it may not be the best choice.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 24 2019, @10:08AM
it depends on his intentions.
my impression is that capable actors/comedians should make capable judges of character (since they are bullshitters themselves), therefore they CAN surround themselves with honest and capable counsel --- but this ability of theirs does not mean they are willing or capable of leading the country out of trouble (he could be a coward who's afraid to select advisors properly, or he could be an opportunist who just wants to steal everything that he can).