Georgia last week

Giorgi Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza

 

Mikheil Saakashvili urged his followers gathering at a protest against occupation to topple Russian oligarch Bidzina Ivaanishvili and take power away from the Georgian Dream coalition. Saakashvili said just before the protest that ordinary measures of classic democracy were useless in freeing the country from trashy and collaborationist forces because Ivanishvili has control over the electoral system. The meeting certainly had fewer participants than the ex-president had expected but much more than the government was planning to see. No wonder the authorities in Tbilisi are nervous, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili reminded that it was Saakashvili’s policy that had caused the catastrophic defeat in 2008 and the breaking away of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

At a live talk by Saakashvili in Kiev, a young man was standing next to him with a portrait of Kakha Bendukidze. It seems that Saakashvili wants to turn Bendukidze into a symbol and icon of his return to power. Bendukidze was the author and the main ideologist of libertarian reforms in 2004-2007. Bendukidze was dismissed as the state minister for reforms, he was unpopular among voters. Now Tbilisi wonders what will happen with his Free University.

The incumbent government of Georgia was not fond of Kakha Bendukidze, it even initiated a criminal case against him for allegedly acquiring state property. He had to move to Europe. The ruling coalition is trying to emphasize its pro-Western course and commitment to the ideals of a market economy. That is why Tamar Beruchashvili, who had been specializing in Euro-Atlantic developments at the Foreign Ministry, became the foreign minister. David Bakradze, a diplomat who had spent most of his life in the West, became the state minister for Euro-Atlantic integration. Prime Minister Garibashvili tried to use their personas to make the insinuations voiced by their predecessors Maya Panjikidze and Alex Petriashvili about the end of the Western course look unjust.

The accusations appeared after the dismissal of Defense Minister Irakli Alasania, who commented on the arrest of several of his executives as being a blow to the Western line. Last week prosecutors initiated a criminal case into a contract of Silknet, a telecommunications company, and into the mass poisoning of the military the previous year. Bidzina Ivanishvili, the backstage leader of the ruling coalition, said in an interview with the Georgian Public Broadcaster that it was suspicious to see that the Defense Ministry had signed a contract on food purchase for the military with a company that had been affiliated with Mikheil Saakashvili and his team.

State audit body controlling expenditures sent materials to the parliament, stating that the Defense Ministry allegedly overpaid for the food. No details were given about the food itself or the trader. The worst part is that the case against the ex-defense minister will be secret and closed, he will not be able to appeal to the public and call for common sense.

Alasania and his Free Democrats Party, which left the Georgian Dream coalition, have influential allies. Alasania is actively supported by President Giorgi Margvelashvili. The latter has not only met with the ex-minister during the most tense moments of the row, he demanded to make an unscheduled speech in the parliament, stating: “The problems of the country are aggravated by suprainstitutional rule, their resolution needs a strengthening of the institutions.” It is hard to imagine a more explicit and transparent hint at Ivanishvili’s backstage control.

An opposition meeting, Bendukidze’s death, new ministers, and Margvelashvili wants backstage politics to endBy Giorgi Margvelashvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively for Vestnik KavkazaMikheil Saakashvili urged his followers gathering at a protest against occupation to topple Russian oligarch Bidzina Ivaanishvili and take power away from the Georgian Dream coalition. Saakashvili said just before the protest that ordinary measures of classic democracy were useless in freeing the country from trashy and collaborationist forces because Ivanishvili has control over the electoral system. The meeting certainly had fewer participants than the ex-president had expected but much more than the government was planning to see. No wonder the authorities in Tbilisi are nervous, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili reminded that it was Saakashvili’s policy that had caused the catastrophic defeat in 2008 and the breaking away of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.At a live talk by Saakashvili in Kiev, a young man was standing next to him with a portrait of Kakha Bendukidze. It seems that Saakashvili wants to turn Bendukidze into a symbol and icon of his return to power. Bendukidze was the author and the main ideologist of libertarian reforms in 2004-2007. Bendukidze was dismissed as the state minister for reforms, he was unpopular among voters. Now Tbilisi wonders that will happen with his Free University.The incumbent government of Georgia was not fond of Kakha Bendukidze, it even initiated a criminal case against him for allegedly acquiring state property. He had to move to Europe. The ruling coalition is trying to emphasize its pro-Western course and commitment to the ideals of a market economy. That is why Tamar Beruchashvili, who had been specializing in Euro-Atlantic developments at the Foreign Ministry, became the foreign minister. David Bakradze, a diplomat who had spent most of his life in the West, became the state minister for Euro-Atlantic integration. Prime Minister Garibashvili tried to use their personas to make the insinuations voiced by their predecessors Maya Panjikidze and Alex Petriashvili about the end of the Western course look unjust.The accusations appeared after the dismissal of Defense Minister Irakli Alasania, who commented on the arrest of several of his executives as a blow to the Western line. Last week, prosecutors initiated a criminal case over a contract of Silknet, a telecommunications company, and over the mass poisoning of the military the previous year. Bidzina Ivanishvili, the backstage leader of the ruling coalition, said in an interview with the Georgian Public Broadcaster that it was suspicious to see that the Defense Ministry had signed a contract on food purchase for the military with a company that had been affiliated with Mikheil Saakashvili and his team.State audit controlling expenditures sent materials to the parliament, stating that the Defense Ministry allegedly overpaid for the food. No details were given about the food itself or the trader. The worst part is that the case against the ex-defense minister would be secret and disclosed, he will not be able to appeal to the public and call for common sense.Alasania and his Free Democrats Party that left the Georgian Dream coalition has influential allies. Alasania is actively supported by President Giorgi Margvelashvili. The latter has not only met with the ex-minister during the most tense moments of the scandal, he demanded an unscheduled speech at the parliament, stating: “The problems of the country are aggravated by suprainstitutional rule, their resolution needs a strengthening of the institution.” It is hard to imagine a more explicit and transparent hint at Ivanishvili’s backstage cont