Ivanishvili officially leaves politics
By Tatia Megeneishvili
Monday, November 25
On November 20th Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili was replaced by the Minister of Internal Affairs, Irakli Gharibashvili, at the position of Prime Minister. From now on Gharibashvili will be the new leader of the Georgian Dream-Democratic Movement as well, while the Minister of Energy Kakha Kaladze will be its Secretary-General.
“I am leaving politics, but I will stay as an active citizen,” Ivanishvili stressed at the party meeting on Sunday. Expressing gratitude towards all the coalition member parties, he said in a year the coalition has made “a miracle.”
“We proved to the world that we are a civilized nation, we proved that we are a nation of European values and that we want to turn our county into a European state,” Ivanishvili said, stressing that he is no longer a politician, instead he is a citizen of this country.
Stressing that he will be an active citizen who will control the government from the civil sector, the former PM said he is sure he will bring much more benefit to the country. “I give you my word that at least for 20 years, I will use all my energy, knowledge and experience for my country,” stated Ivanishvili.
He thanked the people for following and trusting him. “I especially want to thank the people who united around me and believed that we had to beat the violator government with only through elections,” stressed Ivanishvili.
On the question of what exactly he will do in the civil sector, Ivanishvili said that he needs some time to mould his mind. “I will make a plan how to act, for that I need 2-3 months, it must not be done in a hurry, because the new government also needs time to things tidy-up,” he said.
Georgian President, Giorgi Margvelashvi, said that this is an unprecedented fact. “A person, who two-years ago, united the whole Georgian political force and changed Georgian history, is now making one more historical step - he is leaving politics while being on top, we must learn so much from him,” stated Margevlashvili.
Proud to have the opportunity of partnership with the Georgian Dream Parliamentary Chairman, Davit Usupashvili said Ivanishvili is leaving politics after creating a very good political team, who will continue his deeds in future.
