Prime Minister and the President : Two Opinions

By Tea Mariamidze

Monday, August 18

Georgian PM and President have been publicly disagreed on certain issues

The PM was dissatisfied with the time it took the President to change the status of secret documents in Saakashvili’s case

The declassification of information by President Margvelashvili on August 8, 2014 has caused Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili some dissatisfaction. He says that seizing the ban on the documents took much time by the president. In response, President Margvelashvili stated that no one should tell the president how much to think over any issue.

Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili declassified the Special State Protection Service’s case on August 8. Prior to this, the Prosecutor’s Office sent two letters to the president to end the ban on the documents in order to use them as evidence against the former President Mikheil Saakashvili. The documents were assessed as non-confidential by the appropriate bodies and only a certain section of such documents required the president’s permission to make them public.

“I advise you to contact President Margvelashvili and ask why it took so much time,” Gharibashvili told journalists on Friday while commenting on declassification of the documents.

According to the Prime Minister, one month for the declassification of the Special State Protection Service’s case was too much time.

“No one can tell the President of Georgia whether he should think 5 minutes or more about the issues within his competence,” President Giorgi Margvelashvili responded the same day.

“During the last 9 years, I did not like when they did not know where the law began and ends. Therefore, the President of Georgia and his office made a decision on this issue when they thought it was right to do so. They very carefully discussed the issue, which is not only our country's domestic political topic. Now it is clear to everyone that this issue has been linked to Georgia’s foreign policy,” Margvelashvili said.

PR specialist Nino Pertenava believes that confrontations or disputes between the Prime Minister and the President take place in every country. However, they try not to reveal the dissatisfaction publicly. Pertenava stresses that such open confrontations might damage the image and reputation of both leaders.

However, fellow PR specialist Kakha Maghradze states that it is a democratic process and such transparent relationship between high-ranking officials is even beneficial for the country’s democratic advancement.