Comedian Volodymyr Zelensky stepped into his new role as Ukrainian president with his inauguration on Monday, launching a new era for the country.
A month after winning in a landslide election victory against incumbent Petro Poroshenko, the 41-year-old became Ukraine’s youngest post-Soviet president.
When the actor and comedian announced his candidacy on December 31, few took it seriously, but after an unprecedented campaign largely waged through social media, he won more than 73 per cent in the second round on April 21, trouncing Poroshenko.
During his inaugural speech, he announced that he is dissolving parliament, in order to call early parliamentary elections, which had originally been scheduled for October. “People must come to power who will serve the public,” Zelensky said.
Critics had questioned whether Zelensky would be able to govern without a parliamentary majority. Even setting a date for his inauguration took weeks of negotiations with hostile lawmakers, whom Zelensky exasperatedly called “petty crooks”.
He also vowed that his first task would be to bring a ceasefire in the conflict with Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine that has so far caused some 13,000 deaths.“We didn’t start this war but it is up to us to end it,” he said.
In a sign of his more informal style, he exchanged high fives with supporters waiting outside and took selfies with them.
So far little is known about his precise policies after a campaign that capitalised on public disillusionment with the political establishment and promised to “break the system”.
Uniquely for a first-time president, Zelensky had played the inauguration scene before — for laughs. He starred as a history teacher who was unexpectedly elected president in a television comedy series, “Servant of the People”.
While Poroshenko averted complete collapse and launched a series of key reforms he was widely criticised for failing to improve Ukrainians’ living standards or effectively fight all-pervasive corruption.
Zelensky has vowed to continue the country’s pro-Western course but beyond that his programme is still sketchy and his team largely unknown. His critics have questioned how he will deal with the enormous challenges of the separatist conflict and ongoing economic problems.
