Former President of Georgia Mikhail Saakashvili announced his consent to the proposal of the united Georgian opposition to become prime minister in case of its victory in the parliamentary elections on October 31.
“The fact is that now parliamentary elections are not held in Ukraine, but are being held in Georgia.
Naturally, I want to help my Georgian people get out of the crisis.
Therefore, I announced that I agree to be a transitional prime minister not for a full term, but for a stabilization period, until we manage to overcome the deep crisis that Georgia is now in, ”said the politician who now heads the executive committee of the National Reform Council.
Saakashvili explained that for him the fates of Ukraine and Georgia are inseparable.
“I don’t choose between the two countries, my struggle continues here and there,” he summed up.
The leader of the United National Movement (UNM) party founded by him, Grigol Vashadze, announced that Saakashvili would become prime minister if the opposition wins the elections.
He said this, speaking on September 7 at a briefing.
With Saakashvili's candidacy, not only the UNM goes to the elections, but also the unification of opposition parties and movements "Strength in Unity", of which the party of the former president of Georgia is a part.
“Mikhail Saakashvili must return to Georgia and be face to face with his people.
That is why the United National Movement and the united opposition decided to name him a candidate for the post of prime minister, "Vashadze said.
In addition to the UNM, the alliance also includes ten opposition parties.
The bloc was created in the summer of 2018 to fight the ruling Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia party in the presidential elections.
Then, following the voting results, the opposition candidate took second place.
Earlier, the head of the Georgian government, Giorgi Gakharia, said that the return of the ex-president of the country, Mikhail Saakashvili, would not interfere with the holding of elections in Georgia.
“I'll say it again: let him come.
No one and nothing can question the stability of the country.
And no one and nothing will question the holding of elections in a normal, calm atmosphere, ”Gakharia said.
The prime minister added that the upcoming parliamentary elections will be held on time and in compliance with the rules.
Recall that the voting will take place in Georgia on October 31, citizens will have to elect 150 deputies, of which 120 will be elected by party lists, and 30 more - by voting in single-mandate constituencies.
Georgy Gakharia
RIA News
© Asatur Yesayants
Speaking about Saakashvili's motives, Nikolai Silaev, a leading researcher at the Center for Caucasian Problems and Regional Security, noted that the politician did not find himself in Ukrainian politics.
“There are many of them.
He is one of many strange, tongue-in-cheek figures swarming around the topic of reform.
He tried to create a party, but nothing worked.
He has nothing to do there, ”the expert explained in a comment to RT.
A similar point of view is shared by Dmitry Abzalov, a leading expert in the analytical department of the Center for Current Politics.
In his opinion, having failed in Ukraine, Saakashvili is now trying to actualize his name in Georgian politics.
"I doubt that in the near future his return to Georgia is a real prospect," the expert added in an interview with RT.
"Decisive Leap"
Saakashvili announced his plans to return to Georgia in the summer.
In July 2020, the politician said that he had "big plans for both Ukraine and Georgia."
“This fall I am preparing for the decisive breakthrough in Georgia.
We will end the humiliation of my Motherland Georgia and the destruction of my people by Russia's protégé, the oligarch Ivanishvili, and we will return the Georgian statehood to the fast track of development, even if I personally have to pay the highest price for it.
Yes, I am fighting both in Ukraine and in Georgia, ”Saakashvili said then.
"Rose Revolution" in Georgia, November 2003
Reuters
© Gleb Garanich
On August 27, the politician published a video on the social network in which he once again announced this decision, noting that Ukraine had become his second home.
Saakashvili asked for forgiveness for the mistakes he made during his term in power in Georgia, and also said that now he knows how to better serve his country and avoid mistakes.
He added that for all the years while he was abroad, he did not stop thinking about Georgia.
Recall that Saakashvili served as president of Georgia from 2004 to 2013, coming to power as a result of anti-government protests known as the Rose Revolution.
However, shortly before the end of his second presidential term, he left the country.
Georgian law enforcement agencies have opened several criminal proceedings against Saakashvili on charges of abuse of office and embezzlement of public funds.
Ukraine has become a new platform for Saakashvili's political activity.
He arrived in the country in 2013, supporting the Euromaidan.
In 2015, he was appointed a freelance adviser to the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko (2014-2019), whom he had known long before the events on the Maidan.
In the new place, the politician quickly received Ukrainian citizenship, as well as the post of head of the Odessa Regional State Administration.
However, in 2016, Saakashvili resigned from this post, he explained his resignation by the fact that he could not overcome corruption among Odessa officials.
The ex-president of Georgia created the New Forces Movement party in Ukraine and announced that he was going to start fighting corruption at the highest level.
Saakashvili's activity did not find understanding on the part of the Ukrainian authorities: in 2017, he was deprived of his citizenship.
Petro Poroshenko and Mikhail Saakashvili
Reuters
© Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / Mykola Lazarenko / Handout
After Poroshenko lost the elections, and Vladimir Zelensky became the new head of the Ukrainian state, Saakashvili was able to return to Ukraine.
In May 2020, by decree of Vladimir Zelensky, Saakashvili was appointed head of the executive committee of the National Reform Council.
At the same time, initially, the Zelensky administration considered the possibility of appointing Saakashvili to the post of deputy prime minister for reforms.
This, in particular, was previously reported by the Georgian politician himself on his Facebook page.
However, the Rada was supposed to approve this decision, and among the Ukrainian people's deputies there were not enough admirers of Saakashvili's managerial talent for his candidacy to be approved.
Split agent
Although Saakashvili left Georgia several years ago, he continued to indirectly influence the political processes in the country.
So, it was Saakashvili's party "United National Movement" that was an active participant and organizer of the anti-Russian protests that gripped Tbilisi in the summer of 2019.
Mamuka Bakhtadze, who held the post of Prime Minister of Georgia at that time, stated that UNM was responsible for these events.
The politician called the ex-president's party "a destructive force."
According to Deputy Director of the Institute of CIS Countries Vladimir Zharikhin, the appearance of Saakashvili in Georgia could lead to destabilization and a split in the country's power structures, since the court's decision to prosecute the ex-president remains in force.
Protests in Tbilisi in June 2019
Reuters
© Irakli Gedenidze
“It's hard to imagine how Saakashvili will return to the country.
In this case, the security officials will have to arrest him, but if this happens in conditions when the opposition has a majority in parliament, this will lead to a split in Georgia.
As for Saakashvili's words about the temporary status of the prime minister, in reality he is unlikely to transfer power to anyone, there were no such precedents in his biography, ”the expert said in an interview with RT.
According to Nikolai Silaev, theoretically the opposition alliance "Strength in Unity" can get the majority of seats in the Georgian parliament.
However, this does not mean that Saakashvili will automatically receive the post of prime minister.
“The fact is that Saakashvili is a figure who does not unite the opposition, but splits it.
And if before the appearance of Saakashvili on the horizon it was still possible to expect that the opposition would be able to create a parliamentary coalition, now this is hardly possible.
Saakashvili cannot be a compromise figure for the opposition, ”the expert explained.
In addition, the ex-president does not even have Georgian citizenship, Silaev recalled.
At the same time, the general director of the Center for Political Information, Alexei Mukhin, does not exclude that Saakashvili's plan may come true.
“Considering that Saakashvili is an advanced user of preferences from Washington, anything is possible.
Most likely, now Western patrons are trying to give him a certain political status in order to keep him in the loop of Russia's irritants, ”the expert summed up.