“Irakli Garibashvili himself explained his decision to leave the post of Prime Minister and assume the chairmanship in the party. I believe that everyone, including the opposition, would agree that the past three years were marked by significant political and economic achievements,” said Shalva Papuashvili, the Parliament Speaker.
According to Papuashvili, with Irakli Garibashvili as the Prime Minister, Georgia was able to overcome many challenges.
“Georgia was able, in fact, in an environment full of challenges, which surrounds us in terms of security, wars, conflicts, during these three years, and the last stage of the pandemic coincided with his prime ministership, under his leadership, Georgia was able to have historical, political achievements, the status of a candidate with face. As well as historical economic growth figures, these three years have been very successful, full of challenges, and he himself explained why he made this decision. As for the new prime minister, the candidacy will be discussed at the political council tomorrow,” Papuashvili said.
“Georgia has achieved remarkable success despite the challenging environment of wars, conflicts, and security threats that surrounded it for the past three years. This success was achieved under the leadership of Prime Minister Garibashvili, who also faced the difficult final stage of the pandemic. Georgia has made significant political and economic strides, including achieving the EU candidate status and historical economic growth figures. Although these three years were full of challenges, they were also very successful. The Prime Minister himself explained the reasons for his decision to step down. As for the identity of the new Prime Minister, the political council will discuss the candidacy tomorrow,” said Papuashvili.
According to the Parliament Speaker, Irakli Kobakhidze is the candidate that the party is discussing.
“It is important to emphasize that if Irakli Kobakhidze becomes the Prime Minister, it will be a historical moment for Georgian democracy. No other candidacy will be considered. This is because the Prime Minister will actually step out of the parliamentary fold for the first time since Georgia became a parliamentary republic. The actual idea and goal of parliamentary democracies is to have a politician with parliamentary experience represented in the government, in the post of Prime Minister or some other post.
I believe that this will bring a new dynamic to the relationship between the parliament and the government. It’s a positive development for the opposition, and some reviews indicate that. Having a former colleague, with whom you have spent years in the same meeting room, in a political discussion, is more interesting. The interaction is different when such a person is in the government, whether as a minister or a prime minister, it will take on a different dynamic.
Regarding Giorgi Amilakhvari, I think many people from the opposition also felt that this was a special relationship. Former members of parliament understand each other, given their experiences with the internal processes that take place within the parliament. Yet, I believe this year will be interesting to Georgian society, as it marks their first experience of this kind,” stated Papuashvili.
In addition, Papuashvili states that the Parliament of Georgia and the Parliament of this convocation contribute to the democratic development of the country.
“This event, when members of the government and the prime minister were the parliament members, also adds new dynamics to our democracy and once again emphasizes that the parliamentary majority and the government are one political team. There is a common misconception that the parliamentary majority should always criticize the government, even the opposition has similar beliefs. However, in parliamentary democracy, the parliamentary majority forms the government. Therefore, it is natural for there to be a movement between the executive and legislative branches. In some cases, the Cabinet members also serve as members of parliament. This is the European model of parliamentary democracy that we are witnessing in the case of Irakli Kobakhidze as Prime Minister,” explained Papuashvili.
The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party will hold a congress on February 1 to elect a new party chair and nominate a candidate for PM post. The Parliament will approve a new Cabinet next week.
