Ukraine's 'Chocolate King' could edge new-look Yulia for president

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By Richard Balmforth KIEV (Reuters) - Gone is the trademark peasant-style hair braid, though the familiar voice and the assured, rapid-fire delivery tell you Yulia Tymoshenko is back as a political force in Ukraine. But instead of the fiery Tymoshenko, it is Petro Poroshenko, a 48-year-old billionaire known as the 'Chocolate King' who is now the front-runner for a May 25 presidential election which the new leadership hopes will unite a divided country amid growing pressure from Russia hostile to its political changes. Poroshenko, whose chain of confectionery shops puts him in Ukraine's top 10 rich list, received a huge boost at the weekend when popular boxer-turned-politician Vitaly Klitschko pulled out of the race and endorsed him for the presidency. Even before Klitschko bowed out on Saturday, Poroshenko, a beefy man with a thick shock of grey hair, was well ahead in ratings on 25 per cent, with Klitschko on 9 percent and Tymoshenko trailing with 8.3 percent.




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