Is Ivanishvili going to return?

The Georgian Dream coalition won't be able to win in the parliamentary elections next year without the informal participation of Ivanishvili, Georgian political analysts said in an interview for Vestnik Kavkaza, commenting on the statement of the leader of the parliamentary majority Zviad Kvachantiradze about the former Gergian Prime Minister's promise to be "actively involved" in the election campaign of the coalition.

The head of the Institute of the Management Strategy, Peter Mamradze, drew attention to the fact that Ivanishvili was "the only cementing factor" of the current authorities. "Unfortunately, because of the wrong actions of Ivanishvili's milieu, his rating and credibility have significantly reduced. Moreover, many people have a negative attitude towards the great philanthropist in the history of Georgia. But on the other hand, he is the only source of the political, material well-being of the team. Nobody will be able to form a coalition and maintain it up to the elections,'' the expert said.

The expert explained that the 'patron-client system' that makes Ivanishvili the informal leader of Georgia is not his achievement. "This is connected with the pdychology, the social mentality, when a man's word is decisive. First of all he is most important and the only source of prosperity for them: both material, and political, as these concepts relate to Georgia,'' the head of the Institute for Strategy Management said.

The head of the Center for Global Studies Nana Devdariani is also convinced that only Ivanishvili's return can save the Georgian Dream coalition from defeat in the elections. "People are very unhappy about the fact that unpopular political forces became popular after Ivanishvili left the coalition. The only person who can change the situation now is Ivanishvili. Despite the fact that he resigned from politics, people continue to pin their hopes on him because he was the leader of the coalition, and the people voted for him personally," the expert explained.

Political analyst Josef Tsiskarishvili noted that he didn't expect that Ivanishvili's unfulfilled promises would help the Georgian Dream to win, but admitted that without him the coalition won't be able to exist.

"He started to appoint parliamentarians, explaining that about 60 people could be replaced in his coalition. The new electoral law, which in any case is not acceptable to Ivanishvili and his team, is still a serious risk. At the same time, all the representatives of the opposition insisted on the need to fulfill the promises of the coalition regarding changing the law on elections," he recalled.