"Gandalf for President!" is the campaign slogan of the Belarus, My Country opposition group, which has a 50,000-strong online following, Radio Liberty's Belarusian service reports . The organisers know the wizard from JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Hobbit novels doesn't qualify for election, so they're seeking a local candidate with similar qualities of wisdom and leadership. "It's a cushy job," they promise, adding that they've chosen the character because he's "a good wizard and a friend to the Hobbits, who as we know are like Belarusians" - an apparent reference to a study which suggested Belarus had a "Shire-like climate".