Georgy Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
Traditionally, all the TV-companies of Georgia interrupt their shows a few minutes ahead of New Year to broadcast the President’s New Year speech. The last words by the head of the state should coincide with cheering and New Year fireworks.
This year the situation was different. The audience of the most popular TV-company in the country, Rustavi-2, confusingly looked at clocks: “It’s five minutes to twelve, but President Margvelashvili is not speaking.” The festive concert on Rika Square in old Tbilisi was broadcast. People switched over a channel and saw that Premier Garibashvili concluded his speech. Why did Premier make a speech, rather than the President? Fortunately, modern high technologies enable us to backwind. It appeared that Garibashvili was only one of leaders who wished the country a Happy New Year. The head of the Georgian Orthodox Church Ilya II and President Georgy Margvelashvili did the same.
The next day the director of Rustavi-2, Nika Gvaramia (a close friend and supporter of Mikhail Saakashvili), explained his decision by the fact that he didn’t want to interrupt the concert and that “broadcasting speeches by leaders in a few minutes before a New Year was a Soviet tradition.” There was a heavy discussion in all Georgian social nets, people debated over the situation all New Year holidays. It was concluded that Gvaramia wouldn’t dare behave in such a way under Saakashvili’s governance. Democracy was demonstrated at the New Year night, while Rustavi-2 finally became an opposition TV-channel.
As for New Year speeches, there were many interesting aspects. For example, Ilya II urged “not to turn Georgia into an arena of a struggle between the USA and Russia,” but to find “a happy medium.” It should be noted that the “medium” was tried to be find by all three previous presidents of the country at the beginning of their governance, but always came to strict confrontation with Moscow by the mid of their terms because of the problem over Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
President Margvelashvili emphasized the role of Georgian military men who served in Afghanistan: “We sleep tight because they don’t.” i.e. the head of the state confirmed succession of the policy on rapprochement with NATO.
The most emotional speech was made by 31-year old Premier Irakly Garibashvili. He stressed importance of settlement of economic problems, promised to boost export, meaning export to Russia, but also emphasized that in 2014 Georgia would sign the association agreement with the EU and Georgian citizens would have an opportunity to visit Europe without visas.
