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REASONS FOR MINISTERIAL RESHUFFLES IN GEORGIA
DAVID BERDZENISHVILI,
One of the Republican Party leaders, Tbilisi
Grigol Mgaloblishvili, the new Georgian Prime Minister, was appointed about a month and a half ago. Then there were made ministerial reshuffles without significant changes. So, it is incomprehensible why President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia decided to reshuffle the government again on 5 December. Some ministers came and others went but all of them are the same persons.
On the other hand, it is clear that the reshuffles took place because of Irakli Alasania’s resigning as Georgia’s representative to the UN. President Saakashvili was aware of his resignation, but he was most unlikely to know its exact day. So, he pursued a preemptive tactic to make the mass media speak about the government reshuffles. The President appeared on the state TV channels several times on December 5.
Irakli Alasania’s popularity rating is very high and he is the only person who could compete against Mikheil Saakashvili in the presidential election. The reshuffles show that Mikheil Saakashvili is afraid of Irakli Alasania more than we thought.
The leading opposition parties of Georgia, the New Rights Party and the Republican Party proclaimed the creation of a coalition that is expected to become a democratic alternative to the current authorities. I have to admit that we are negotiating with Mr. Alasania. All of that indicates that the political lay of the land in Georgia has changed.
Nino Burjanadze's new opposition party can find its niche but, as I said, if she lays claim to the absolute opposition leadership, she will get nothing. But her party can become one of the opposition constituents.
Nino Burjanadze is not regarded as the major rival of Mikheil Saakashvili. Some people think that if she was the parliamentary Speaker and twice acting Georgian President, then she can become the leader of the country, but they are wrong.
Apart from that, an opposition party of Zurab Nogaideli, the former Prime Minister, has been recently created. This political force cannot head the opposition either. Most probably, Nogaideli's party will try to join our coalition. We, the Republican Party and the New Rights Party, are not going to unite with Nino Burjanadze and Zurab Nogaideli's parties, but we maintain good relations with them. There are also some small opposition groups which may form their alliances or join others.
This way, the political picture in Georgia is changing: the Republican Party and the New Rights Party's alliance could become a great opposition political force in Georgia, and Irakli Alasania is most likely to become the Georgian oppositionist.
December 9, 2008
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