"Outsiders have greeted the election of Petro Poroshenko as Ukraine's new president with tremendous hope. The billionaire chocolatier has vowed strong steps to bring peace to his troubled country and leadership that bridges differences with Ukrainian separatists and his Russian neighbors. Optimistic observers predict that he is too rich to be bought and therefore likely to overcome the bad government performance and rampant citizen cynicism that has plagued that country.
Yet the experiences of other nations with billionaire executives do not bode well for Ukraine. Billionaires have run for elective office in 13 nations around the world and in most cases, the tycoon has won. But many of these campaign winners have overseen administrations beset by corruption, poor performance, and blatant conflicts of interest."
How did the billionaire solution turn out in Georgia?
"In the former Soviet republic of Georgia, billionaire Bidzina 'Boris' Ivanishvili has a net worth equal to one-third of his country's $15.8 billion gross domestic product, according to Forbes magazine.
"He came into politics following major policy disagreements with Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili.
"Saakashvili, who was elected in 2008 on an anticorruption platform, pursued pro-Western and pro-NATO policies and sought membership in NATO and the European Union.
"Russian leaders were upset with those moves, and after talks failed, they sent military troops into Georgia in 2008 to support separatists in the region of South Ossetia."
Can a Billionaire Save Ukraine?*|*Darrell West
Billionaires would seem to be the problem here, regardless of religion or ethnicity.