Will The Election Of Petro Poroshenko As Ukraine's New President Be A 'Game Changer'?

Opinion: Will Ukraine's 'Candy Man' deliver the goods? -- Alexander Nekrassov, Special to CNN

(CNN) -- The thing about presidential elections, be it in Ukraine or anywhere else for that matter, is that it makes sense to ignore everything that was said during the election campaign and, especially, in the immediate aftermath.

Election promises are made to be broken or ignored altogether -- remember "Yes We Can?" And in the first few days, or even weeks, after results are announced lots of things are said that mean pretty much nothing.

To say that the presidential election campaign in Ukraine produced a lot of statements and pledges that made little or no sense would be an understatement. If you summarise them all, then Ukraine should be in fine shape to join the G7 group of industrialised nations, replacing Russia, in about five years' time.

Read more ....

My Comment: There is no debate about one thing .... he did receive a convincing mandate in the regions where voting was possible. In the eastern part of Ukraine .... where most (if not all) of the polls were closed .... a different situation where opinions ranged from derision to a sense of resignation that nothing will change.

What's my take .... in today's speech he outlined his objectives .... he will not recognized Russia's annexation of Crimea, he will not enter into talks with pro-Russian separatists, he is ready to use force to end the conflict in the eastern part of the country, he wants aid and guaranteed gas supplies from Russia, and to boost the Ukraine economy he will sell state assets (to whom he does not say) as well as making a push for EU integration.

Sighhh .... if this is what he will pursue .... I can only see the only following. The eastern part of the country will forever be in turmoil. His ties with Russia will get "frostier", and since Russia is Ukraine's biggest trading partner, I cannot see the economy improving. In return for EU aid he will need to implement a wide range of severe economic programs .... again .... more suffering to the average citizen. But as bad as Petro Poroshenko may be .... I will concede one thing .... the other candidates that were running for the job were far worse than him. He also has a reputation of compromising .... a trait that I hope that this billionaire oligarch who is now the President of Ukraine will bring to the table.