Two delegations at UN 70th assembly - who thinks for the state?

Georgia’s Foreign Ministry has announced that two Georgian delegations will attend the 70th assembly of the United Nations (UN) in New-York, at the end of September.

The Foreign Ministry Press Speaker Davit Kereselidze said that both the President and the Prime Minister will participate in the important event and will represent Georgia from different angles.

The PM is scheduled to deliver a speech at the assembly while the President will take part in the conference dedicated to women’s rights after being invited by the Lithuanian president.

Kereselidze stresses that the composition of the delegations was not known as the issue was beyond the competence of the Ministry.

He said that presumably, the PM’s office would name the individuals who will leave for the United States.

“Our mission to the UN has already been scheduled. I assure you that the delegations will be composed based on the demands of the international standards,” Kerselidze said.

Sending two delegations from Georgia has been negatively assessed by the opposition.

The opposition United National Movement (UNM) and Free Democrats (FD) have stressed that the President should have gone to New York and the Prime Minister with the government members should have been focused on the de-occupation of Georgian lands and other state-important and socioeconomic issues.

Former Foreign Minister and a current member of the FD party, Maia Panjikidze, has stated that two delegations from Georgia might affect the state image.

Analysts also believe that one delegation would be more beneficial as two delegations at the UN assembly might hint at the ongoing internal strife between the President’s and Prime Minister’s institutions.

Analysts stress that the constitutional court should clearly divide the functions of the President and the Prime Minister for to avoid such undesirable controversies.

Since the Georgian constitution changed under the previous government the President lost his function as the main figure of the country and instead major power concentrated in the hands of the Prime Minister.

However, obscurity in various directions causes controversies and misunderstanding among the institutions.

Both the current President and the Prime Minister were selected by Georgia’s former PM and the founder of the Georgian Dream Coalition, Bidzina Ivanaishvili.

However, when elected, President Margvelashvili came into conflict with Ivanishvili. Ivanishvili stated that “Margvelashvili disappointed him” while PM Garibashvili is still on good terms with Ivanishvili.

In the face of the criticism, Margvelashvili stated that he “took an oath before the Georgian people and not the coalition”.

Maybe if Margvelashvili was still on good terms with Ivanishvili, such controversies would not have taken place. However, the fact is that Margvelashvili frequently makes independent solutions that are in opposition of the Georgian Dream approaches.

The President’s advisors state that the government tries to discredit the Presidential institution and the permanent controversy concerning the foreign trips is a part of a deliberate campaign.

Meanwhile, the majority states that the President fails to fit to the new constitution and forgets that he is no longer the top official of the country.

When such controversies take place and certain individuals fail to agree it would be the best outcome the country’s main law to regulate the issue very clearly.

Apart from damaging the state image and interests when top officials fail to agree over visits and related topics, sending of two different delegations abroad for the same event puts a significant strain on the state budget.

When thousands of Georgians starve and the national currency faces significant devaluation the country has no luxury to cover the huge expenses for several delegations for one and the same event.