Ex-PM Ivanishvili on current political situation in Georgia

Georgia’s former Prime Minister and founder of the Georgian Dream (GD) ruling coalition believes there is no political crisis in the country.

Ivanishvili, who gave a lengthy interview to Georgia’s Public Broadcaster on Saturday night, said the recent cabinet reshuffle – where former Defence Minister Irakli Alasania was dismissed and ex-Foreign and Euro-Atlantic Integration Ministers resigned – was "only some signs of crisis”.

"There were some problems which were not pleasant but this is not a political crisis of the Government,” the ex-PM said, adding all problems "had practically been solved already”.

Media

Ivanishvili began the interview by criticizing Georgian media, saying journalists lacked professionalism. He gave details about an analytical TV show he would soon launch on his family-owned GDS TV channel.

He said the TV program titled 2030 – the name reflected his 20-year plan of strengthening Georgian civil society – would be co-hosted by three people and would be on air everyday from Monday to Friday with Ivanishvili himself summarising the weekend's activities on Sundays.

Ex-Defence Minister Alasania

Ivanishvili also spoke about ex-Defence Minister Alasania’s decision to leave the GD coalition and lead the Free Democrats opposition party.

Ivanisvili said he told Alasania it was not worth being elected as the party chairman "in such a situation”.

"Speaking simply, when there are many questions about a leader, the latter must not damage his party and team members,” the ex-PM said, saying there were many unanswered questions around the Defence officials’ recent arrest for their alleged crimes.

"Even if he was the party chairman he should have resigned. But on the contrary he was elected as the chairman and this is a wrong decision from my point of view,’’ Ivanishvili said, noting everything would be "properly assessed” after the 2016 elections, [which Alasania said today he was confident he would win].

PM Garibashvili

Ivanishvili also said he was not satisfied with Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili’s political maturity.

"Statements made by Garibashvili at the latest Government session were absolutely unacceptable,” he said referring to the PM’s Thursday’s actions calling Alasania a "reckless, foolish and ambitious” minister.

Ivanishvili believed Garibahsvili was unexperienced and it was not good to talk about former friends in such a way. However he added the PM was "a very strong person” and "a good practitioner”.

"He made a mistake. He revealed that he has less political practice. I am not satisfied with his political maturity,” Ivanishvili said. Although despite this, Garibashvili worked around the clock for his country and people, he said.

The ex-PM also responded to allegations that he ruled the country "from the backstage”. He said this was an insulting statement for both himself and PM Garibashvili.

Garibashvili does not need to be guided, Ivanishvili said. Besides, he believed it was not "logical” for someone who wanted to hold onto power to step down. Ivanishvili said he used to be in power and if he wanted to keep things this way, he would not have resigned from his post.

Background

Ivanishvili resigned on November 2013 after Parliament gave a vote of confidence to his successor, Garibashvili and the cabinet of ministers.

Businessman Ivanishvili, Georgia's richest person with an estimated worth of $6.4 billion, announced the beginning of his political career in October 5, 2011 with a single sentence: "I decided to create a party and take part in the 2012 Parliamentary Elections". In the next and more detailed letter, he promised the Georgian people he would win the elections and resign within 2-3 years after his victory.

He founded the Georgian Dream party, created a coalition with the same name which united many parties that were in opposition of the previous government.

Ivanishvili’s coalition won the 2012 Parliamentary Elections and he became the Prime Minister.

He kept his promise and before the October 27, 2013 Presidential Elections, he stated he would leave his post as soon as the new President was elected.

After his resignation, Ivanishvili moved into the civil sector. He said he would work to improve this area with a 20-year plan he had developed.