By Georgi Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza
It is certainly too early for ex-Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Nino Burdjanadze to write her memoirs, since she is still an active politician. However, she often resorts to the memoir genre when characterizing her partner Mikheil Saakashvili during the Rose Revolution.
After the war of 2008, Nino Burjanadze became an obstinate opponent of his, blaming the president for the failed war. However, relations between the president and the speaker had been far from perfect even before the August war. Budjanadze likes to remind people that she had never trusted Saakashvili very much, claiming to have reasons to distrust him.
The ex-Speaker bothered to tell an anecdote on a talk show to make her point. In Burjanadze’s words, Saakashvili and ex-Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania approached her at a special reception for the Rose Revolution. They started a friendly, confident talk about the future of Georgia, the formation of a new government and law enforcers. Her interlocutors asked Nino a favour: “Your husband Badri Bitsadze occupied very high posts in the law-enforcement structures, including in the prosecution service, Interior Ministry and Defense Ministry. Since you are our friends and partners, ask your husband to make a list of the most trusted, professional, skilled people in the structure, so that we could rely on them and give them promotions.” No one would ever pass up such a chance.
“My husband did not sleep for two nights, making the list, removing, adding, he was working very hard and was nervous because it was a big responsibility, we were given an important task, and we could not let the president and the prime minister down,” Nino said, hinting that she took part in composing the list personally, “We gave the list to Mikheil Saakashvili and Zurab Zhvania, but in a few days everyone on the list was discourteously booted out of the law-enforcement structures, prosecution service, Interior Ministry and Defense Ministry.”
In other words, Saakashvili and Zhvania played a very witty trick, trying to figure out who were the closest, second and third-ranking allies of Burdjanadze and got rid of them. Like true politicians, they were cynical, cunning, rational and shrewd.
Everyone says “politics are dirty.” But how could Burdjanadze not have seen the trick? She is a politician! Many consider her to be a smart and powerful politician, rarely making a mistake. Regardless of her political skills, Nino Burjanadze was a woman. The offer was made by partners. There are some things hard to understand for women and unexpected, cynical and pragmatic politicians can make use of that peculiarity artfully.
From the memoirs of the female Georgian politicianIt is certainly too early for ex-Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Nino Burdjanadze to write her memoirs, since she is still an active politician. However, she often resorts to the memoir genre when characterizing her partner Mikheil Saakashvili during the Rose Revolution.After the war of 2008, Nino Burjanadze became an obstinate opponent of his, blaming the president for the failed war. However, relations between the president and the speaker had been far from perfect even before the August war. Budjanadze likes to remind people that she had never trusted Saakashvili very much, claiming to have reasons to distrust him.The ex-Speaker bothered to tell an anecdote on a talk show to make her point. In Burjanadze’s words, Saakashvili and ex-Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania approached her at a special reception for the Rose Revolution. They started a friendly, confident talk about the future of Georgia, the formation of a new government and law enforcers. Her interlocutors asked Nino a favour: “Your husband Badri Bitsadze occupied very high posts in the law-enforcement structures, including in the prosecution service, Interior Ministry and Defense Ministry. Since you are our friends and partners, ask your husband to make a list of the most trusted, professional, skilled people in the structure, so that we could rely on them and give them promotions.” No one would ever pass up such a chance.“My husband did not sleep for two nights, making the list, removing, adding, he was working very hard and was nervous because it was a big responsibility, we were given an important task, and we could not let the president and the prime minister down,” Nino said, hinting that she took part in composing the list personally, “We gave the list to Mikheil Saakashvili and Zurab Zhvania, but in a few days everyone on the list was discourteously booted out of the law-enforcement structures, prosecution service, Interior Ministry and Defense Ministry.”In other words, Saakashvili and Zhvania played a very witty trick, trying to figure out who were the closest, second and third-ranking allies of Burdjanadze and got rid of them. Like true politicians, they were cynical, cunning, rational and shrewd.Everyone says “politics are dirty.” But how could Burdjanadze not have seen the trick? She is a politician! Many consider her to be a smart and powerful politician, rarely making a mistake. Regardless of her political skills, Nino Burjanadze was a woman. The offer was made by partners. There are some things hard to understand for women and unexpected, cynical and pragmatic politicians can make use of that peculiarity artfu
