Bidzina Ivanishvili Returns to “Protect the Government from Human Temptation”

Bidzina Ivanishvil, the founder of the Georgian Dream party said today, while addressing the Georgian Dream Congress, that he is returning to politics and will assume the position of the Honorary Chair of the Georgian Dream Party.

He began by saying that political activity “is not part of his character”, citing his earlier pledge in 2012 to leave politics after winning the 2012 elections, which he did in 2013, taking an “unprecedented decision in world politics” and leaving the post of Prime Minister. He said he did not enter politics for wishing to have a leadership position but with the belief that it was in the interest of the country and the people, and left politics with the belief that he had “completed the mission” and that the criminals would never get back the ambition to return to power. However, he said, “the criminal political system has stronger roots than it seemed.” Therefore, he first had to return to politics in 2018. In this context, he recalled the words of the then-EU ambassador, who told Ivanishvili that “without your return, nothing would have remained of the ruling party.” He said he had fulfilled his “mission” and put the ruling team in order. Then he left politics again.

Ivanishvili recalled former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia’s “act of betrayal” and said he had to step in and help the “team” with advice; otherwise, he argued, the consequences for the country could have been grave.

Since then, he said, he has been in contact with 2-3 Georgian Dream leaders, which has facilitated “the healthy processes in the [ruling] team.” He claimed that this was a normal practice that existed in many democratic countries [when a former leader gives ‘advice’ to the ruling team].

He then said that Georgia faces many challenges, and the geopolitical situation is difficult. Therefore, even the smallest mistake by the ruling authorities can have serious consequences. Georgia’s national goals can only be considered achieved when “we fully protect the national identity, restore the full sovereignty of the country, achieve territorial integrity, and achieve foreign policy goals – the most important of which is EU integration.”

He then went on to say that “regrettably,” the opposition, the political element which is responsible for keeping the ruling party in check, is “completely destroyed.” “The opposition burdened by the criminal past, even in past times, hasn’t carried out the healthy and active control of the government, but now it has not retained even a minimal resource to provide such a control,”- said Ivanishvili. The “torrent of lies” produced by the opposition instead of it “exercising effective control” over the government has become so banal, that “it fails to cause even a modicum of discomfort to the ruling party,” Ivanishvili argued.

In these conditions, he said, there are “risks” of the ruling party “losing its head and slackening” or “being tempted to invent the confrontation inside the team when there is [no one left to oppose] outside.” He said corruption risks also increase in the absence of the opposition’s control, which “needs to be insured.”

Ivanishvili said these are the reasons for “taking an unpleasant decision for me to come back to politics and assume the position of the honorary chair.” He stressed that the reasons for the return are not electoral since if the elections were held today, “Georgian Dream would have gotten 90-100 mandates [out of 150] even without campaigning.”

The true reason for his return, Ivanishvili said, was “to protect the excessively strong team from human temptation. The ruling party needs the new center of gravity, and I think it is timely and necessary for me to fulfill this mission as the center of gravity.”

He stressed that in this new role, he would be “the main advisor” of the party, not intending to “substitute the functions of the party’s actual chairman [Irakli Kobakhidze],” whom he congratulated for “excellent” management. Ivanishvili said the party needs his “political and life experience” to “lead the country to final victory.”

The tasks he highlighted were to “protect our national identity, restore state sovereignty and territorial integrity, and transform Georgian into a high-income state till 2030 and bring it into the European Union.”

Also Read:

• 30/12/2023 – BREAKING: Ivanishvili Elected GD Honorary Chair

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)