Reel to real? Ukrainian actor who plays role of president on TV to run for presidency this year

Ukrainian comedian/ actor, who played the role of the country's president in a TV show, is now being considered as a major contender in the country’s presidential election due next month. Volodymyr Zelenskyy ended months of speculation by finally announcing that he will contest the elections.

Currently starring in popular television comedy series Servant Of The People, the actor plays the role of a schoolteacher who becomes the president.

The 40-year-old recently confirmed on a TV show that he will run for the presidency and that he took this decision to “try and change something in Ukraine”.

He told at a Quarter 95 comedy programme: “Unlike our politicians, I did not want to make promises in vain. But now, I can promise you I'll do it in the right way.”

Incidentally, campaigning for the March 31 polls started just hours before the actor announced his plans for a grand political debut.

Meanwhile, incumbent President Petro Poroshenko’s public approval ratings have plummeted in the recent past, given the economic downturn, a lack of progress in reforms and in tackling corruption.

However, rather than Zelenskyy, Poroshenko's main threat appears to be coming from former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, and opinion polls have rated Tymoshenko ahead of Poroshenko.

An opinion poll conducted by Seetarget Research Company in the first week of December revealed Zelenskyy holding second position at 9 per cent. Tymoshenko topped it with 12.7 per cent votes, while Poroshenko succeeded the actor with 8.6 per cent votes.

Zelenskyy is known to be an anti-establishment candidate and opinion polls indicate him to be holding a favourable position.

However, though his popularity has sky-rocketed, it is mostly due to public dissatisfaction with the traditional political elites. Political analysts have pointed out that his support base may still be unstable since the policies for his government are ambiguous.