By Vestnik Kavkaza
The Georgian media is focused on the difficult situation in the republic, where the economic crisis is turning into a political one. The sharp fall of the lari negatively influences the financial system of the country and causes reasonable criticism of the government and demands for the resignations of officials who cannot deal with their work.
Paata Sheshilidze, the president of ‘The New Economic School – Georgia’, told Rezonansi: “The government has been working for three years, but they haven’t achieve any successes. The crisis situation is instant in the country. Devaluation happened last year; it repeats today. Last year we had problems with the budget; this year the problems remain. GDP problems occurred last year; they continue this year. The Prime Minister is one of the weakest links; and we shouldn’t expect serious changes without his resignation.”
Mamuka Areshidze, an expert on the Caucasus issues, speaks about Irakli Garibashvili’s resignation as well. “The question of the government’s responsibility has already been raised. The society and media are openly talking about it, while MPs are discussing the topic together. I should say that some forces in the parliament are preparing for the impeachment of Irakli Garibashvili. MPs are collecting votes instead of dealing with problems. They are developing treason behind Garibashvili’s back. They need 15 votes more. I don’t know who will betray Irakli Garibashvili, but I confirm that talks with members of the coalition from various factions are going on,” Alia cites Areshidze.
“Members of the coalition may support Garibashvili’s impeachment as well. It is secret information, but I want society to know that a secret attack is being prepared against Irakli Garibashvili. You can see what is going on in the parliament – deputies are fighting each other; the economy is being managed by some secret forces. The National Bank of Georgia has reduced the lari exchange rate again; it is organized work on a worsening of the situation,” the expert thinks.
The awful economic situation is not the only reason for the demands. The authorities are accused of corruption. For example, the leader of the Kartuli Dasi Party, Jondi Bagaturia, demands the dismissal of the Vice Premier, the Minister of Energy Kakha Kaladze. “I should state that Kaladze should be dismissed from the position of the Minister of Energy. It would be great if he was dismissed from the government completely! I think he won’t stop in another place, but for sure he should leave the Ministry of Energy. Kaladze turned the Ministry into its own commercial company, brought his business partners to key positions in the Ministry. These people are lobbying for an increase of rates, for example, the head of the security service of his commercial company, Gia Benashvili, who became the head of Tbilgaz, and Mariam Valishvili became the deputy minister. Benashvili is an initiator of the increase of rates,” Alia cites him.
“We have published materials which are enough for the prosecution service to initiate an investigation into the issue. So we will organize an informative action for the prosecution. We will present materials which have been published in Alia. It will be an unusual exhibition about the “heroic” deeds of Kaladze. They can say that Alia is a popular newspaper, and they couldn’t buy an issue and study the materials. The materials touch on disinvestment from the Ministry of Energy by Kaladze. We will prove that the Ministry has turned into the Kala Capital Company,” Jondi Bagaturia promises.
The situation is worsened by the fact that the current authorities have poor staff reserves, according to some experts. “The government’s activity is very ineffective. In the crisis situation, they have no resources to replace 5-6 people,” Rezonansi cites Demur Giorkhelidze, an expert on economic issues. “Classically, Georgian Dream is not a political party and has no resources for renewal. The only resource of the party is its initiator. People still trust him, but the trust is not transformed into reforms, economic progress, employment, and so on. So, this is traditional Georgian blind love without prospects. If early elections take place, the authorities have chances of winning; but if the elections take place in the fixed time, it will depend on the many thousands of people who are disappointed in the Dream, but also don’t support the UNM, self-organizing and forming some structures,” the expert concludes.
In the context of the worsening political crisis, the possibility of early elections is discussed intensively. At the same time, not everybody thinks that they are necessary. “Nobody is ready for early elections. In such a situation, those who manage to mobilize voters will have chances of success. Unfortunately, the Dream couldn’t maintain enthusiasm among its supporters. Voters will probably be passive; and I don’t think anybody hopes for early elections. If somebody expresses such a desire today, it is a political declaration, rather than a real target,” Kviris Palitra cites Zaza Piralishvili, Professor of Philosophy from Tbilisi State University.
However, there are people who believe that the tense confrontation in the political arena of Georgia doesn’t destabilize the situation in the country. Political scientist Gia Khukhashvili thinks that Georgian Dream and the UNM play into each other’s hands. “The game meets the interests of the UNM and the Dream. They have formed a symbiosis. The current situation is beneficial for both forces, even demands for the resignation of the authorities. Georgian society is dissatisfied with the government. And such an action meets the interests of the government. I don’t say that they act together, but they have similar interests,” Rezonansi cites him.
