PM: any claim about return to politics of former PM Ivanishvili “mere speculation”
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Friday said claims about a return to politics of the former Prime Minister and founder of the ruling Georgian dream party Bidzina Ivanishvili were “mere speculation”. Photo: Government Administration
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Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Friday said claims about a return to politics of the former Prime Minister and founder of the ruling Georgian dream party Bidzina Ivanishvili were “mere speculation”.
Bidzina Ivanishvili left politics. As you know, he explained thoroughly about his motivation, why he left politics last year. Therefore, any claim [about his return to politics] is mere speculation, there is no basis for such claims. You probably saw Bidzina Ivanishvili's letter, where his vision, motivation, and personal affairs were clearly explained, and I think that the public is fully informed on this matter”, Garibashvili said.
In a letter addressed to the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on July 18, Garibashvili said allegations on the Georgian Government being run by the former Prime Minister and founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party Bidzina Ivanishvili were “offensive to me personally and to my country”.
The founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party Bidzina Ivanishvili left the party and politics on January 11, 2021, saying that his “mission has been accomplished”.
Ivanishvili stated that the current leadership of the party could replace “his hard work, authority and skills in a worthy manner”.
In a letter addressed to the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on Monday, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said allegations on the Georgian Government being run by the former Prime Minister and founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party Bidzina Ivanishvili were “offensive to me personally and to my country”.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday issued a letter to Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission. Agenda.ge offers its readers an integral text of the Prime Minister’s letter:
Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili on Tuesday said allegations on the Government not being independent were “insulting” and led to “increasing polarisation” in the country’s domestic political environment.
"I have made the decision to finally retire from politics and fully distance myself from the reins of power. I am leaving the post of party chairman, as well as the party itself and am returning to my pre-2011, private lifestyle. I will turn 65 years old in just a few weeks, and this is one of the important factors in making the decision to retire from politics,” Ivanishvili said, adding that the step ‘which is dictated by the desire to advance young people to the forefront...will not only not weaken, but will, in fact, further strengthen the ruling party.’
The “singular goal” of the “radical part” of the Georgian opposition is to overthrow the Government and spark unrest, with the group having “no interest” in Georgia’s European intentions, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said on Friday while attending a local holiday in the mountainous Svaneti region, in the country’s north-west.
Two Parliamentary opposition groups, the Citizens and Girchi parties, on Thursday released a joint letter calling on the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili to withdraw from politics and urging the former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili to take political office again in a bid to ease domestic political polarisation “hampering” Georgia’s European Union membership process.
Mikheil Sarjveladze, the Chairman of the Georgian Parliament’s Committee on Human Rights, on Thursday said decisions by individuals to engage in or withdraw from politics were a personal matter, in response to a joint letter of the Citizens and Girchi opposition parties calling on the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili to withdraw from politics and urging the former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili to take political office again in a bid to ease domestic political polarisation “hampering” Georgia’s European Union membership process.
Mamuka Mdinaradze, the executive secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Monday said there was “no evidence” that the former prime minister and founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party Bidzina Ivanishvili influenced domestic political processes or interfered “in any way”.