UNM presidential candidate, MP Davit Bakradze, has warned that PM Ivanishvili’s intended pre-term resignation would lead to “governance deficit” and would “not bring any good” to the country.
 
He said that PM’s intended resignation and his statement itself, released on September 2 detailing his motives behind his plans, “contain serious risks for the country” for number of reasons.

“Such statement represents a serious threat to Georgia’s economy, which is already in a condition of deep crisis, because it strengthens sense of instability; such a statement means months-long uncertainty for businessmen who want to invest in the country,” Bakradze said.

He said that pre-election promises of the Georgian Dream coalition, “most of which still remain unfulfilled”, are associated personally to PM Ivanishvili and by the latter’s decision to quit, voters will remain empty-handed.

Bakradze said that Ivanishvili’s resignation would also cause “decision-making deficit.”

“In the condition when governing [GD] coalition member parties have fundamentally differing views on whole range of issues… [PM Ivanishvili’s] resignation will lead to decision-making deficit, which will further strengthen sense of uncertainty and chaos. That’s why I see significant threats and risks behind this decision,” he said. “I think that such a statement and his intention to quit will not bring any good to the Georgian state and our people.”

A presidential candidate and leader of Christian-Democratic Movement (CDM), Giorgi Targamadze, said it would be “political thoughtlessness” on the part of the PM to resign without early parliamentary elections.

“If he quits the politics, it automatically means contributing to the collapse of [GD] coalition. It means that we may have a parliament where the UNM may again become the single largest and strongest group,” he said.

Echoing PM Ivanishvili’s opinion on the matter, GD representatives said that the coalition would not collapse at least till next parliamentary elections in 2016.

“The Georgian Dream coalition has promised to voters that we will remain together for four years and we will definitely keep that promise,” MP Irina Imerlishvili from Ivanishvili’s Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia party said.

GD MP Davit Berdzenishvili of the Republican Party said that after PM Ivanishvili’s resignation would cause significant increase in responsibility of coalition member parties.

“[With his resignation] Bidzina Ivanishvili will make a lot of space in politics free and this free space should be distributed among the coalition member parties, which increases their responsibility,” MP Berdzenishvili said.

Vice-Speaker of Parliament from Ivanishvili’s GDDG party, Manana Kobakhidze, said that the GD coalition would remain “guarantor” of delivering all those promises which were given by the coalition. “So nothing special is happening,” she said.

Paata Zakareishvili, the state minister for reintegration, said: “Bidzina has made a very clear indication for number of times previously that he’s intending to quit and today’s open letter confirms it once again and eventually that he’s willing to go from politics – and not from Georgia and from public life. He was not born as a prime minister and there will be no tragedy in him quitting [the politics]. On the contrary, we will soon see that his new role will be more efficient in serving the Georgian society and state interests.”

Energy Minister Kakha Kaladze, who is also deputy PM, said that despite of Ivanishvili’s important personal role, “the government will continue its activities efficiently” after the PM resigns.

When last month Defense Minister Irakli Alasania was asked about PM Ivanishvili’s intention to resign, he responded: “As a partner, as an ally I urge Bidzina Ivanishvili not to do that.”

“But on the other hand from the very beginning he was saying that he was not intending to stay [in government] for a long time and we felt that at certain point he would be talking about this. So this time has arrived. We do not know yet exactly how it will work out,” Alasania said on August 21.

He, however, also said that Ivanishvili’s pre-term resignation would “not be a tragedy.”

“It will be even healthy for Georgian democracy. One of the flaws of [governance in Georgia] was [having] too many [political] heavyweights… They were dominating the whole political space,” he said.

“I think that if he departs from politics – and probably he will, but it’s too early to talk about timing now – I think there will be more competitive environment for the Georgian political parties for development… so I think it will only benefit to Georgia’s future democratic institutions. He [Ivanishvili] is a man of [his] word; so far he’s track record of saying things and delivering is very high,” Alasania said.