The authorities have managed to maintain stability in the system, but one spark can lead to a huge explosion
2010 was a period of relative stability for Georgia. However, given the numerous internal and external risks and volatility of the state system (in the face of persistent confrontation with Russia), this stability might only be classified as an "unstable system", as political scientists often described it in such paradoxical terms.
The adoption of a new constitution has changed the country from a presidential republic into a parliamentary republic.
The authors of the new constitution had to make several important concessions and meet the demands of the moderate opposition, the NGO sector traditionally influential in Georgia and foreign organizations (including the Venice Commission on constitutional reform) to ensure the legitimacy of the constitutional reform, particularly preservation of the constitution’s article on a nationwide presidential election. In the new system of power separation, the president will not have real levers of influence on the government’s decisions and the prime minister. However, since he is to be elected nationwide, he will have greater political power and the ability to create a counterweight to
the ruling team.
The municipal elections on the 30th of May gave President Saakashvili an opportunity to break the international isolation which he had been in since August 2008. The key western politicians were waiting for confirmation of Saakashvili's legitimacy and renewed contact with him only after the people confirmed their support for the ruling team on the 30th of May. After that, many senior Western guests visited Georgia, including US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, while Saakashvili himself paid an official visit to France and met with Barack Obama in Lisbon. At the last meeting, Georgian Prime Minister Nika Gilauri said that economic growth in 2010 exceeded 6 percent. Budget cuts spoil the picture, as well as increased utility bills, high inflation (over 11% per year), catastrophic levels of unemployment reaching 40% in Tbilisi and stagnation in the real economy, as well as the approaching year 2013, when Georgia will have to start paying back loans from the IMF, the EU and the World Bank, as well as meet its obligations regarding Eurobonds.
George Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi, exclusively for VK
