Press Scanner
Compiled by Keti Baramidze
Wednesday, April 7
Soso Tsiskarishvili: the only way out is to name the common candidate
Analyst Soso Tsiskarishvili states in an interview with Rezonansi that the opposition is not doing itself much good at the moment. First of all the Alliance should decide whether it likes Subari’s initiative to stand down in favour of a common candidate or not. Noghaideli’s alliance should also find out what changes a primary will bring.
"I suppose that the public’s dissatisfaction with the opposition will soon reach its peak. This is because the opposition parties have not yet determined which they prefer - their parties or their country. They should first make a decision about this and then try and convince the public to support them, as only then will they be able to answer the public's questions," says Tsiskarishvili.
"At present their behavior doesn’t suggest that the word 'party' is less meaningful for them than the word 'country'. The opposition have avid attachments to their ambitions but this is not a guarantee of success by any means. To my mind a “victory formula” is necessary but still not enough in itself.
Subari, who has never been considered a place seeker, has only stood aside due to the conflict between the opposition parties, admits Tsiskarishvili, who emphasises that the only way out of the present situation is to choose a common candidate. Tsiskarishvili is sure that soon the opposition parties will explain exactly who has put obstacles in their path when they have sought to achieve this, “although in one thing I‘m completely sure, Subari definitely isn’t the person who has hindered us from fulfilling our mission," he says.
Asked why he thinks the Government is delaying naming Gigi Ugulava as its candidate, Tsiskarishvili answers: “Gigi Ugulava will do everything in his power to use all the recourses he possesses as the Mayor. After he is declared a candidate his status will change and he will no longer be the Mayor, and thus no longer have access to these resources. However the National Movement has not come to a unanimous agreement about Ugulava’s candidature. I think they will name their candidate at the end of May.”
Kervalishvili denies she will be City Council Chair
Rezonansi writes that Vice-Speaker of Parliament Rusudan Kervalishvili has declared that she has not been nominated as the National Movement candidate for Chair of Tbilisi City Council, as previously reported.
"I was elected the majority Deputy for Samgori but until now I’ve kept only 10% of the promises I gave to my constituency. The Council Chair candidate will be revealed in the near future and I’m absolutely sure he will be completely acceptable for the country. Questions don’t arise about the Mayoral candidate as I know Gigi Ugulava will fill this post by all means," Kervalishvili said.
Sandro Bregvadze: the Freedom Party will cooperate with anybody
"If nothing changes and we follow our plan we will take part in the elections. However the fact is that no one knows whether these elections are worth participating in or not. We have put forward our candidatures just to be on the safe side," says leader of the Freedom Party Sandro Bregvadze in an interview in Akhali Taoba.
“If we had a guarantee that these elections will be more democratic than the Parliamentary ones it would be reasonable to vote. But if rigging takes place they won’t get away with it again," says Bregvadze.
"In the past we have seen that serious results are never achieved when parties with different ideologies try to cooperate with one another, but politicians with common interests always achieve success. From this it follows that the National Council members should consolidate and work together. Consultations about this have started; however it’s a very complicated process as Georgian politicians have huge ambitions.
"The National Council’s political tenor is vague for me. We know nothing besides the fact that Noghaideli has held a meeting with Putin. Only after getting acquainted with their outlooks will I express my attitude towards the constituent parties. For now I underline that I’ll oppose any Political force which will attempt to come to power with the help of outsiders," says Bregvadze.
Asked whether cooperation with the National Council is excluded, Bregvadze answers: "I rule out nothing. Cooperation is excluded neither with Gachechiladze nor Targamadze or Dzidziguri, but the fact is that we will never find ourselves in the same team!"
Analyst Soso Tsiskarishvili states in an interview with Rezonansi that the opposition is not doing itself much good at the moment. First of all the Alliance should decide whether it likes Subari’s initiative to stand down in favour of a common candidate or not. Noghaideli’s alliance should also find out what changes a primary will bring.
"I suppose that the public’s dissatisfaction with the opposition will soon reach its peak. This is because the opposition parties have not yet determined which they prefer - their parties or their country. They should first make a decision about this and then try and convince the public to support them, as only then will they be able to answer the public's questions," says Tsiskarishvili.
"At present their behavior doesn’t suggest that the word 'party' is less meaningful for them than the word 'country'. The opposition have avid attachments to their ambitions but this is not a guarantee of success by any means. To my mind a “victory formula” is necessary but still not enough in itself.
Subari, who has never been considered a place seeker, has only stood aside due to the conflict between the opposition parties, admits Tsiskarishvili, who emphasises that the only way out of the present situation is to choose a common candidate. Tsiskarishvili is sure that soon the opposition parties will explain exactly who has put obstacles in their path when they have sought to achieve this, “although in one thing I‘m completely sure, Subari definitely isn’t the person who has hindered us from fulfilling our mission," he says.
Asked why he thinks the Government is delaying naming Gigi Ugulava as its candidate, Tsiskarishvili answers: “Gigi Ugulava will do everything in his power to use all the recourses he possesses as the Mayor. After he is declared a candidate his status will change and he will no longer be the Mayor, and thus no longer have access to these resources. However the National Movement has not come to a unanimous agreement about Ugulava’s candidature. I think they will name their candidate at the end of May.”
Kervalishvili denies she will be City Council Chair
Rezonansi writes that Vice-Speaker of Parliament Rusudan Kervalishvili has declared that she has not been nominated as the National Movement candidate for Chair of Tbilisi City Council, as previously reported.
"I was elected the majority Deputy for Samgori but until now I’ve kept only 10% of the promises I gave to my constituency. The Council Chair candidate will be revealed in the near future and I’m absolutely sure he will be completely acceptable for the country. Questions don’t arise about the Mayoral candidate as I know Gigi Ugulava will fill this post by all means," Kervalishvili said.
Sandro Bregvadze: the Freedom Party will cooperate with anybody
"If nothing changes and we follow our plan we will take part in the elections. However the fact is that no one knows whether these elections are worth participating in or not. We have put forward our candidatures just to be on the safe side," says leader of the Freedom Party Sandro Bregvadze in an interview in Akhali Taoba.
“If we had a guarantee that these elections will be more democratic than the Parliamentary ones it would be reasonable to vote. But if rigging takes place they won’t get away with it again," says Bregvadze.
"In the past we have seen that serious results are never achieved when parties with different ideologies try to cooperate with one another, but politicians with common interests always achieve success. From this it follows that the National Council members should consolidate and work together. Consultations about this have started; however it’s a very complicated process as Georgian politicians have huge ambitions.
"The National Council’s political tenor is vague for me. We know nothing besides the fact that Noghaideli has held a meeting with Putin. Only after getting acquainted with their outlooks will I express my attitude towards the constituent parties. For now I underline that I’ll oppose any Political force which will attempt to come to power with the help of outsiders," says Bregvadze.
Asked whether cooperation with the National Council is excluded, Bregvadze answers: "I rule out nothing. Cooperation is excluded neither with Gachechiladze nor Targamadze or Dzidziguri, but the fact is that we will never find ourselves in the same team!"