An easy victory ahead for Poroshenko?

[FarCenter]

Now that Vitali Klitschko has withdrawn his bid for president in Ukraine, the vote is likely to come down to a race between Petro Poroshenko and Yulia Tymoshenko. But billionaire Petro Poroshenko has the lead - for now.

The boxing champ has thrown in the towel. Had he pushed through with a bid for president, Vitali Klitschko would have had very slim chances. Instead, he will seek election as mayor of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.

Klitschko's decision to support billionaire Petro Poroshenko in the presidential election is a "clever decision," said Kyryl Savin of the Green party-affiliated Heinrich Böll Foundation in Kyiv. In the last provisional voter polls, the politically inexperienced Klitschko's hopes were laid bare. "When the next opportunity arises, he'll probably put his hat in the ring for president or prime minister."

For Poroshenko, Klitschko's support means additional momentum for his presidential campaign. In recent weeks, Poroshenko has achieved a good position in the polls that may now see a boost from members of Klitschko's Udar (Punch) party. That's important in part because Poroshenko's own small party, Solidarnist (Solidarity), has won few votes in past elections in Ukraine.

Poroshenko himself is considered to have a clean record. The "Chocolate Baron" is credited with generating his estimated 1.3 billion euro ($1.79 billion) fortune on his own. Starting by selling cocoa beans, he gradually incurred more and more candy factories and went on to found the branch heavyweight Roshen. Now, he also owns automobile and bus factories, a shipyard and the private TV station Channel 5.

While amassing his billions, Poroshenko seems to have stayed within the law, said Svitlana Zalishchuk, whose CHESNO ("Honest&quot non-profit put all of the presidential candidates under a microscope. "We couldn't find any instances of corruption," she said.

Furthermore, Zalishchuk said, the billionaire has operated relatively transparently in politics. "Last year, he published the names of his employees and the times he was available to speak with citizens. He just didn't publish his side income - that's the only negative that we could ascertain."

http://www.dw.de/an-easy-victory-ahead-for-poroshenko/a-17531298