by Georgy Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively for VK
Spokeswoman of the US State Department Victoria Nuland confirmed that Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili discussed his remaining in government as prime minister after the presidential polls in 2013. Nuland did not give details on the subject.
Nuland’s statement provoked more talks around Saakashvili’s meetings with US President Barack Obama, Vice President Biden and State Secretary Clinton. Initially, many observers and politicians believed that Saakashvili wanted to discuss his political prospects after 2013 and hoped to gain US approval for continuation of activity (as a prime minister, chairman of parliament or chairman of the Supreme or Constitutional Court) after expiration of his second term as president. That is why Georgia studied every word of the press release published by the White House and tried to catch contrasts in the US president’s statements. Obama’s words were interpreted or translated depending on political position: sympathy or antipathy towards Mikheil Saakashvili. One of Obama’s statements on the need for clear and democratic parliamentary polls in October were translated as “Formal Transfer of Power” by the Georgian president’s press service, while media translated it as “official and legal transfer of power”.
It is not surprising that Nuland’s statements were contradictory. It should be taken into account that Saakashvili and leaders of the United National Movement usually don't give comments on plans after 2013. Saakashvili does not want to announce his resignation after 2013, because it would weaken the top-down executive power and complicate reforms. At a presentation of his book on Georgian political reforms at the World Bank, Mikheil Saakashvili said he would only start writing his memoirs in 17 years (his retirement age).
Experts believe that Nuland’s declarations have an unclear form and meaning. “This statement is hard to comment on. Nuland is one of the most experienced diplomats and balances every word. She stated the fact that there was no chance for decisive conclusions”, former Georgian Foreign Minister Shevarnadze Irakly Menagarishvili said. “It is hard to understand how the US regard Mikheil Saakashvili staying in power from her statement. But other statements, including President Obama’s ones, give reasons to believe that the US would be against it,” the minister says.
The opposition believes that Nuland’s statement is a reference to earlier demands of President Obama to transfer power through a democratic procedure. “I know Nuland very well. She could not say it directly, but made it clear that Saakashvili must leave after 2013”, Victor Dolidze, a member of the Free Democrats opposition movement and former Georgian Ambassador to the OSCE, notes.
Independent experts say that the opposition and Saakashvili’s opponents tend towards wishful thinking. “If the US no longer wants to see Saakashvili on the Georgian political stage, then how do we explain Obama’s word at the meeting with him, saying that Georgia is a model of successful development for other states of the region. It turns out that the US value the development model but want the author of the model to disappear?”, independent expert Nika Imnaishvili told VK. “In reality, if we put all President Obama’s and State Secretary Clinton’s statements together, we may reach the conclusion that the US is not against his staying as a Georgian politician, but only if the party proves its popularity in fair, clear and competitive elections”, the expert says.
Georgia will hold parliamentary polls in October 2012. According to Mikheil Saakashvili’s constitutional amendments, Georgia will become a parliamentary-presidential republic with the prime minister in power.
