Friday, October 19, 2007, #200 (1467)

Prominent businessman unveils political vision for Georgia
By Eter Tsotniashvili

On October 17, business tycoon Badri Patarkatsishvili publicized a document detailing his political vision for Georgia, further fuelling speculation that he is planning to enter politics.

“I think it is very important that every person who cares about Georgia’s future evaluates the political processes in the country and finds the true ways for the country’s development,” Patarkatsishvili writes in the policy document, disseminated by Georgian news agency Interpressnews.

In the document, Patarkatsishvili suggests devolving state powers into a federalist structure, moving from a presidential to a bicameral parliamentary system, and maintaining a foreign policy based on balancing relations with other countries.
 
The United National Council, a coalition group including most of the country’s active political opposition, published their joint manifesto the same day.

Patarkatsishvili wrote that the past few years have revealed the “vivid imperfection of the state’s arrangement.”

Georgia would benefit from limiting the control of the central authorities to only the economy and defense spheres, the document says, with other issues being decided by regional authorities.

Outlining what he called the “democratic guidelines of Georgia,” Patarkatsishvili recommended a transition to a parliamentary system of government with a two-chamber parliament, and suggested that the notion of a constitutional monarchy “similar to that of Great Britain” was worth considering.

In terms of foreign policy, he underlined the importance of prioritizing Georgia’s interests.
“Georgia’s foreign policy should meet the interests of only our country and our people,” the document reads.

He pointed to the problems of having the friendly United States far away and an aggressive Russia next door, suggesting that Georgia’s foreign policy should therefore be one of “balancing relations with different countries.”

Patarkatsishvili approved of the country’s NATO and EU accession bids, describing them as “fully in line with the Georgian people’s interests,” while warning that “this process should not occur at the expense of others’ interests.”

Oppositional New Rights MP Manana Nachkebia said her party found Patarkatsishvili’s main points agreeable; they, too, support the idea of a parliamentary republic, she specified.

Ruling party MP Vakhtang Balavadze, meanwhile, pointed to similarities between Patarkatsishvili’s vision statement and the joint manifesto released by the United National Council, speculating on political collusion between the opposition and the enormously wealthy businessman.

“[The United National Council] and Patarkatsishvili will join together and declare Patarkatsishvili as their leader,” he predicted, speaking to Rustavi 2.

Influential majority MP Giga Bokeria responded to Patarkatsishvili’s statement by insisting that Georgia would not undergo any more revolutions, urging the political groups and the tycoon to work through elections instead.

Patarkatsishvili’s statement did not expressly declare how he hoped to implement his proposed policies, but he has previously said he would consider entering politics if compelled by circumstance to do so.



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