On May 25, the “Chocolate King” handily won the Ukrainian presidential elections in the first round.
Billionaire Petro O. Poroshenko is so named because he made his fortune in the confectionary business. The defeated runner-up, former prime minister Yulia V. Tymoshenko is sometimes referred to as “the Gas Princess,” since she struck it rich in the energy sector.
It seems that Ukraine has not yet achieved the nominal separation of oligarchy and state that we have in the United States, and being extremely rich is almost a constitutional requirement to run for president – like being at least 35 years old and a natural-born citizen is here.
The U.S. government, which has invested billions of dollars over the last 20 years to bring Ukraine into its political/military orbit in Eastern Europe, seems pleased with the result.
It has become standard operating procedure to get an elected government as soon as possible after a coup such as the one that toppled the prior-elected – and also super-rich President Viktor Yanukovych in February – with help from other Western governments.
Yanukovych, who tried to balance his government between the competing interests of the U.S./European Union alliance and Russia, never really had a chance. If he had agreed to the IMF conditions, his government would probably have become at least as unpopular as it did when he turned to Russia for a desperately needed $15 billion loan.