Second-placed star of the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, Verka Serduchka (aka Andrei Danilko) has withdrawn from the parlimentary elections in Ukraine after a brief but well-publicised foray into the world of politics.
Andrei, selected as the number one candidate for the For Our Own! party, had attracted a lot of media attention since the announcement that he would stand for election, with a hint that he would be following fellow Ukrainian Eurovision star Ruslana into a career in politics.
Not ready yet
Aiming at those voters who have become disillusioned with the political process, Danilko was due to hand out badges to would-be deputies of the party in a light-hearted publicity stunt, but pulled out at the last minute citing that he was "not ready yet".
Around 40 parties are in competition during the current elections. In 2005, Ruslana became Ukraine's first Eurovision MP as an elected member of the Our Ukraine party. Fellow Eurovision stars with political ambitions have included Ireland's 1970 winner Dana Scallon, who was a member of the European Parliament for Connacht-Ulster from 1999 to 2004.
