Margvelashvili rejects possibility of leaving the coalition

The repeated confrontations between the president and the prime minister remain one of the key issues for Georgia’s current domestic policy. There is speculation that the president will leave the coalition and move into the opposition as a result of the negative attitude towards him from his own party. There are several issues the president and the cabinet have failed to agree upon until now. One of the controversial issues is related to the president stationed in the Avlabari residence.

GD member Zakaria Kutsnashvili’s recent visit with the president aimed at clearing-up some details. The content of the meeting still remains confidential. However, Kutsnashvili assures that Margvelashvili is not planning to leave the coalition.

Members of the coalition believe that Margvelashvili should stand by the Georgian Dream, as his victory was directly linked with the support of the Georgian Dream team and the founder of the coalition Bidzina Ivanishvili.

This attitude is viewed slightly differently by analysts. Soso Tsiskarishvili suggests that the previous support must not be the reason for the president’s eternal loyalty to the party. He stresses that after being elected, Margvelashvili cannot be a “possession” of any political actor.

Fellow analyst Gia Khukhashvili believes that such an approach is unacceptable to the coalition. However, Margvelashvili himself strives for freedom anyway.

“He tries to open space for any political actors. However, it is not allowed for the president to establish a separate political entity,” Khukhashvili says.

Khukhashvili admits that Margvelashvili was not the only source of the confrontation. He believes that the president tries to act based on the constitution and not to let others interfere with his duties.

“If someone believed that Margvelashvili would be a puppet, he was sharply mistaken,” Khukhashvili says.

The analysts emphasize that the current constitutional model was tailored for the former President Mikheil Saakashvili, who wished to become the prime minister and all other branches to be totally subordinate to him.

Analysts mention that Margvelashvili was against such a system. The experts believe that the current government is trying to preserve Saakashvili legacy and maximally empower the prime minister. This of course could lead to unpleasant developments.

The show is still on, and one fact is clear: personal dissatisfactions have turned into the subject of heated debates concerning constitutional changes and some other related problems running the state.

Altogether this creates a very uncomfortable situation in the country and gives a sense of instability to the population. As a result, the Georgian Dream coalition might lose its popular support.