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THE GEORGIAN TIMES: SWEET PROMISES: SAAKASHVILI MAKES NATIONAL ADDRESS
Preparations for the President’s visit to Parliament started early in the morning on February 12. As is customary on such occasions specially-trained dogs were brought to the Parliament and the entire building was inspected. The President’s address was to start at 6 pm in the evening. But before the clock struck 6 a bureau session was held to verify once more the schedule and format of the address.
The Parliamentary opposition had been demanding debate after the President’s state of the nation address. Jondi Baghaturia, former member of the Labour Party and United Opposition Coalition now chairing the Georgian Troupe, had additional demands.
The President had left the Parliament chamber immediately after all his previous speeches. But he decided to meet the Parliamentary opposition halfway this time. After negotiations the ruling party and the Parliamentary minority agreed that only representatives of particular Parliamentary factions would be allowed to ask questions of the President. For two days Jondi Baghaturia had been afraid that he would not be given this opportunity as he does not belong to any faction. Baghaturia tried to share his concerns with every journalist he encountered and threatened to walk out of the hall in protest.
Baghaturia was not the only man protesting however. An hour before the address started about 100 activists from the Republicans and New Rights alliance gathered in front of Parliament. They accused the President of telling lies and called the address another farce. They carried a placard with the words “Saakashvili’s last address.” A little squabble followed as one of the security officers of Parliament tried to confiscate the placard but the incident ended without any arrests.
The lawmakers expected the President to arrive at 6 but Saakashvili was 25 minutes late. Dignitaries from the Georgian Orthodox Church, representatives of the diplomatic corps, the Chairman of Supreme Court, the Tbilisi Mayor, Governors and the heads of the legal Abkhazia and Adjara Governments were all waiting for the President.
As the President took his seat in the hall Jondi Baghaturia asked few a few minutes to make a statement. As expected Baghaturia fulfilled his promise and walked out in protest.
At the very start of his welcoming speech Saakashvili noted that he is ready for dialogue between Parliament and President. He said that his administration’s efforts should be directed to tackling unemployment and reducing poverty. Improving the economy and increasing employment – these are the top priorities for Georgia.
Saakashvili’s address did not have a radical tone this time. Populist rhetoric was also missing. Saakashvili said almost nothing about his vision of how territorial integrity would be restored.
As expected Mikheil Saakashvili focused more on social issues rather than politics. He noted that the Tserovani presidential residence would be handed over to IDPs from South Ossetia. Two more presidential residences, in Batumi and Zugdidi, would be put up for sale and this would reduce Government spending. The earnings generated from the sale would be spent entirely on social programmes.
One more initiative he came up with is state insurance. “The state should co-finance a health insurance package which can be available for a large number of our citizens… There will be a GEL 5 health insurance policy, in which the state will cover GEL 3.35 [per month] and the rest will be paid by the policy holder. The holder of such a policy will be able to undergo urgent surgery worth no more than GEL 5,000,” he said. He added that promises to increase state pensions to 100 USD would remain in force and the villages would in future decide themselves where to spend state money.
Saakashvili touched on foreign policy too. He noted that the US, Europe and international organizations remain important partners of Georgia. “Georgia lost its worthy children in the month of August and we should understand that the enemy’s main goal was to destroy the statehood of Georgia. We confronted an enemy which does not recognize the norms of international law and to feel more secure have to come closer to our strategic partners,” he said. He also mentioned the Munich conference and some supportive statements made there.
Saakashvili’s speech lasted 1 hour and five minutes in total. Lawmakers interrupted his address with loud applause several times.
As expected the Parliamentary opposition did not pose hard-hitting questions to the President. MP Giorgi Akhvlediani focused on the economy and asked the President how the Government was planning to tackle unemployment; whether he deemed it necessary or not to re-establish the anti-monopoly service; and what concrete measures were planned for assisting agriculture and “protecting Georgian farmers.” MP Gia Tortladze,Chairman of Strong Georgia (part of the Parliamentary minority group), told the President that “restoration of justice” is essential; political pressure on judges should be stopped; the condition of inmates remains hard. After taking a short break to consult Government members, Saakashvili responded to these and other questions, saying that he could not agree with setting up a new Government agency such as the anti-monopoly service as monopolies would tackled by reducing corruption and that the judiciary should be institutionally strengthened to prevent interference.
Saakashvili also said that “I think these were among the best debates ever held in the Georgian Parliament” and “With these debates today Georgia has passed a test in democracy with success.” The opposition outside Parliament however concluded that the Parliamentary minority had failed its test and that there was full harmony between the governing party and the Parliamentary opposition factions.
At the end of his speech Saakashvili declared that apathy and disappointment were the key enemies of Georgia and called on the people to show confidence in a brighter future.
GT staff
“The Georgian Times”, February 16, 2009
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