THE POLITICAL DEBUT of retired Ukrainian football star Andriy Shevchenko appeared to be heading for disaster on Sunday, after exit polls predicted the former AC Milan and Chelsea striker’s new party would fail to win any automatic parliament seats.
Two separate exit polls showed “Sheva’s” Ukraine Forward! party collecting just 1.6 percent of the ballot in Ukraine’s bitterly contested parliamentary elections.
The result placed one of the country’s most revered sports heroes in the unfamiliar position of finishing way back in sixth place and well outside the five-percent barrier that qualified parties for automatic representation.
Shevchenko entered politics shortly after he finished his storied international footballing career for Ukraine during the Euro 2012 tournament that the ex-Soviet state co-hosted with Poland this summer.
But some immediately expressed their surprise to see the star place his political bets with the little known Ukraine Forward! group of controversial party leader Natalya Korolevska — a former ally of opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko.
Ukraine Forward! has more recently been accused of working with President Viktor Yanukovych in a bid to break up the protest vote and ensure that the ruling party retains its grip on parliament.
Shevchenko was forced to fend of this and charges he was being well paid to enter politics despite initially proclaiming himself as a new alternative who had the vision and wherewithal to achieve results.
Shevchenko smiled softly at reporters as he cast his ballot on Sunday in a black jacket and casual jeans in one of the more upper-crust districts of Kiev.
He spoke confidently of “looking into the future with hope” and pronounced himself “confident of victory.”
“I am sure that people will make the right choice and the country will breathe more freely and move in the right direction,” said Shevchenko after casting his vote.
