Former PM versus current PM

Former Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli, who resigned during the November 2007 events, seems to be willing to return to big time politics. Such could be assumed from reading his interview in the Kviris Palitra newspaper, where he seriously criticizes current PM Lado Gurgenidze and his cabinet, calling them incompetent.

According to Noghaideli the Government is hiding the dire situation in the country from the population. There are speculations about the losses the Russian economy received during the war but it is not known what happened to the Georgian economy. The former PM predicts that the budget will not receive about GEL 0.5 billion of revenues as “the country’s economy has practically stopped.” He also thinks that US aid will somehow balance the situation but will not remedy the underlying problem.

The signs of crisis are visible in the construction business and tens of thousands of workers employed in that industry might lose their jobs, says Noghaideli. He alleges that Gurgenidze has not given up his business as required, protects his interests there and thus “has no time to manage the country’s economy.” With such criticism Noghaideli is granted a one way ticket to the opposition which will presumably forgive him his “sins.”