The ex-PM meeting with the media

“If we imagine theoretically that the Georgian Dream party reverses its course, I will support any party that will lead the country in the right direction, «Georgia’s former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili said at a meeting with representatives of media yesterday.

He talked about how much he is involved in the election campaign, and said that while he does not go to the party headquarters, he "may attend meetings once a month."

"I'm not involved in the election process. It might be excessive. I do not go to party headquarters. I may only attend meetings once a month, if anybody has questions. Processes are going on without me. As a citizen, I want to express support to the Georgian Dream, as this is the only party that will continue to walk in the European direction. This is the only reason for which I support them.

“If we imagine theoretically that the Georgian Dream party reverses its course, I will support any party which will lead the country in the right direction. The team includes a lot of successful people who share this course. Georgian Dream, led by Kvirikashvili, has no alternative in this regard,” he said.

Almost all the opposition parties in Georgia claim Ivanishvili is an informal ruler of the country. However, many of them admit that if Ivanishvili had not defeated the previous ruling United National Movement (UNM) party in 2012, a fair parliamentary race would be impossible.

Before the elections, Ivanishvili was known to the public solely for his large-scaled philanthropic activities. People could not even recognise his face, as there were very few photos of Ivanishvili on the Internet at that time.

After defeating the UNM in 2012 Ivanishvili quit his Prime Minister’s post after about in a year and a half as he had promised he would (for the vaguest of reasons), but stressed he would empower the civil sector and monitor the Government’s activities.

Now Ivanishvili is meeting with media and holding several hour-long press conferences in order to support the ruling team in the upcoming October 8 parliamentary race.

However, his activities are causing question marks as to his honesty regarding his involvement with the government and many people have expressed their anger on social networks.

Some write that Ivanishvili must come back to power to fulfil what he had promised prior to the 2012 election or leave the politics once and all and break all contact with the Government’s policy.

Ivanishvili's public activities also fuel speculation that he truly is the informal ruler of Georgia.