PM Gharibashvili Publishes Open Letter, Addresses ‘Deoligarchization Campaign’
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Wednesday, July 13, 2022
Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili has announced on 12th of July that the ‘campaign of so-called deoligarchisation’, which he claimed was organised by ‘internal or external political opponents’, involved a completely unsubstantiated accusation against former PM Bidzina Ivanishvili and was aimed at discrediting the current governance system in the country.
In an extensive letter published on his personal Facebook page, PM Garibashvili noted that talk of Ivanishvili continuing to manage the current government is a ‘complete farce and absurdity’.
“Since they have no evidence of Bidzina Ivanishvili's involvement in politics, they point to the fact that I and several key members of our political team entered politics under his leadership as the main ‘proof’ of the so-called ‘oligarchic rule’”, Garibashvili said.
In the open letter the Head of the Government noted he had had a close relationship with Bidzina Ivanishvili as the former Director of the charity foundation Cartu - established by the latter - adding our families periodically communicate with each other in the wake of his work on the position.
He recalled that when Ivanishvili announced his entry into politics in 2011, he did not hesitate to join him, though well aware of the risks associated with this decision - “not only because of my attitude towards Bidzina Ivanishvili, but also taking into account the country's interests, I decided to actively participate in the struggle for the democratic transition without a second thought”.
Garibashvili stressed it was particularly offensive to him when internal or external political opponents put forward the charge of the need for deoligarchisation in the country.
“According to constitutional theory and practice, the political leader of the country in a parliamentary republic is the PM, having the responsibility before the people to perform functions independently of any excessive influence. When someone claims that the Prime Minister is part of a farce and is actually run by a person who decided to quit politics in January last year, it offends not only me but the state as well”, the PM wrote.
Garibashvili also said the ruling Georgian Dream team had a ‘special attitude’ towards Ivanishvili as he was not only the founder of the political team but had also brought about a ‘democratic change’ in the country.
“When he quit politics, he left us with the right values and the rules of the game to govern the state. These values and rules of the game include the love for the country and the respect for the law. However, we do not follow these values and rules of the game as a legacy imposed by the former leader of the team. These values are vitally important and organic to our entire political team”, he said.
The Government head added that key positions of the ministers of defence, foreign affairs, justice, finance and health are today held by people Bidzina Ivanishvili has not even met or knows, and talking about Ivanishvili governing and controlling the Government and the Parliament in such circumstances is ‘a complete farce and absurdity’.
“If someone believes we did not impose sanctions against Russia and did not get involved in the war (amid Russian invasion in Ukraine) on Bidzina Ivanishvili's direct orders, they are very wrong. We do not need anyone's advice or orders on this issue. Our team made decisions on these issues independently and with complete unanimity”, he said.
The Prime Minister also emphasised the ruling team did not make neither ‘operational’ nor ‘key’ decisions on the orders of the former leader of the party.
“In this situation, the authors of the deoligarchization campaign should kindly explain, what they mean when they talk about oligarchs and deoligarchization,” the PM stressed, adding that if the problem is the very existence of Ivanishvili in general, or the values that he left - the love for the country and the respect for the law, then the opponents must admit this.
Garibashvili also said the political environment left behind by Ivanishvili and the experience of the Georgian public were 2 factors that ‘do not leave any chance of success to our political opponents’.
“In such conditions, I would advise the United National Movement and its internal and external partners to adapt to the current situation - the peace, stability and double-digit economic growth. They should understand that no matter how much they may want it, they cannot involve Georgia in the war”, he concluded.
