Bloomberg calls Ivanishvili ‘Shadow Boss’ in article, gov’t leaders react
By Nika Gamtsemlidze
Monday, February 17
A few days ago, Bloomberg, a famous American news provider, published an article about Georgian Dram’s new lobbyist in the U.S., where they called Bidzina Ivanishvili 'aShadow Boss.’
According to the Parliament Speaker Archil Talakvadze, the article published on Bloomberg is sponsored.
“The Bloomberg article you most likely read is probably a sponsored one. It can be concluded from the fact that Bloomberg has never said and failed to disclose that Mr. Bidzina Ivanishvili has spent $3 billion on various important projects in Georgia and they are publishing the article today that he seems to be spending 76 million,” said Archil Talakvadze.
“To start, Ivanishvili is responsible for Georgia’s regression into repression. Georgia has run through a string of recent prime ministers who have been effectively consolidating control of the country, most recently intimidating and arresting members of Ivanishvili’s opposition,” reads the article of Bloomberg.
It also focuses on the arrest of former Tbilisi Mayor Gigi Ugulava.
For the last few months, several letters of American congress members were published. Most of them were calling on the Georgian government to ensure a stable and unpolarized environment in Georgia.
Recently, the Minister of Foreign Affairs also received letters from France and Germany, but they still have not been made public. Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani says they have received a letter of support from France and Germany. He talked about this with reporters who were interested in why the contents of the letter were not made public.
“It is a very good letter, from our friends, the Foreign Ministers of France and Germany. It is a supporting letter. We welcome such support from Germany and France,” said Zalkaliani.
European Parliament deputy Giorgi Kandelaki says the French and German foreign ministers have written a joint letter to the Georgian government. According to Kandelaki, the letter criticizes developments in Georgia.
The Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Gakharia said that all critics will receive appropriate answers from Georgia. “All fair criticism will be judged accordingly, and every grounded criticism will have a reasonable, objective response. It will be our daily job. Do not think that we will go there only once and then forget about it later; No, we will continue to work on it every day,” said the Prime Minister.
Most of the letters received by Georgia contain complaints about the development of the country. The focus on the anti-Western attitudes in Georgia, and also write about the fact that several bots were deleted from Facebook, which was promoting anti-Western propaganda. As one of the letters reads, this kind of development in Georgia raises a lot of questions.
Georgia’s representatives are getting ready to start meetings with U.S. officials. As they say, they are ready to provide accurate information to their partners in the United States.
