Ivanishvili says it’s Not Problem If Opposition Nominee Becomes President
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Thursday, July 26
The Georgian Dream party leader, former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili who returned to politics this year after a five-year-break, says that it is his personal view that the Georgian Dream should not name a presidential candidate from the team.
Ivanishvili says that if a "worthy independent candidate” appears on the stage the Georgian Dream ruling party should support them.
“I am against nominating a presidential candidate from the Georgian Dream party. If such a worthy candidate does not emerge, let the opposition candidate become the president,” Ivanishvili said.
“Consultations are still ongoing on the issue and the Georgian Dream is not unanimous over my view,” Ivanishvili said.
Ivanishvili, who left politics in 2013 and said that he would not reenter the political word “unless vitally important,” says that he decided to return as the Georgian Dream team was “on the verge of collapse.”
Ivanishvili, who managed to end the nine-year-rule of the United National Movement in 2012 with his Georgian Dream coalition, openly criticized former Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili and Finance Minister Dimitri Kumsishvili.
He stated that Kvirikashvili failed in teamwork and could not coordinate parliament and government.
Ivanishvili said that Kvirikashvili and Kumsishvili were also lobbying two top Georgian banks-TBC and Bank of Georgia, “those which are robbing Georgians and make people never pay bank loans.”
Ivanishvili said that Kvirikashvili hid the International Monetary Fund survey from him and the public, which also spoke about the problem of bank debts in Georgia.
Ivanishvili says that the main problem for Georgia is that the country’s democratic development outpaces Georgia’s economic advancement.
He says that Georgia is a free country which has managed to develop democratic values, however, the state economy is still in trouble.
Ivanishvili believes that the main goal of the current Georgian leadership is to fill the gap.
The European Georgia opposition member Elene Khoshtaria says that the Georgian Dream will never support the candidate who will not do what Ivanishvili wants.
The opposition was also unanimous that through shifting blame on former PM Kvirikashvili, who quit his post in June, Ivanishvili was trying to find a scapegoat.
