“We are witnessing the continuation of Bidzina Ivanishvili’s rat race. This is precisely Bidzina Ivanishvili’s trademark. He makes the rats he himself raised devour one another,” Grigol Gegelia, Foreign Secretary of “Lelo - Strong Georgia,” said, responding to Regional Development Minister Mamuka Mdinaradze’s decision to leave politics.

According to him, this is “a very direct and clear expression of a weak, internally depleted and divided regime.”

“We are witnessing the continuation of Bidzina Ivanishvili’s rat race. This is precisely Bidzina Ivanishvili’s trademark. He makes the rats he himself raised devour one another - those who first ravaged Georgia and destroyed every Georgian institution, the Georgian budget and Georgian national identity, eliminating everything Georgian, and now they have moved on to devouring one another. This is a very direct and clear expression of a weak, internally depleted and divided regime.

“I wish this regime success on its path of devouring one another. This is very important, and whatever remains will receive a final and convincing response from the Georgian people. In my opinion, we have seen nothing new. This is their trademark: first they ravage the state and then they turn to devouring one another.

“Quite simply, my heart goes out to the regions, which have been left so lonely without such a distinguished commander and guardian. I don’t know what will fill the very large void that Mr. Mamuka’s departure creates in each of the regions where he probably worked for several days during the only week he spent as minister. The public is also interested in whether he will take or leave those medals, weighing several kilograms, which Irakli Kobakhidze, his friend, handed out to him at the time.

“I don’t know what motivations emerged during the internal discussions and deliberations, but I do know that the broader framework in which all this is happening is Bidzina, his rats, and the unique quality of these rats - that ultimately they devour one another because they can no longer devour the country; there is nothing left to ravage. They have completely subjugated, drained, impoverished and genuinely brought this country down, and now they have moved on to what rats always do - devouring one another.

“Whether the Garibashvili incident played an additional role leading up to this is a separate question, but that is the least interesting issue in this country. The main point is that the rats are devouring one another, and this will be the end of this regime,” Grigol Gegelia said.

Regarding Irakli Garibashvili’s letters, the initiation of a new criminal case against him, and the former prime minister’s statement that he will not participate in court hearings, Gegelia said that “Garibashvili has remained the same comical idiot he has always been throughout his political career, and these letters are, of course, proof of that.”

“The more interesting part of what we see in these letters is that Georgia’s twice-former prime minister openly confirms that there is no independent court and that the judiciary is politically controlled by the party. He directly stated that he knows how the system controls the courts and that he does not trust these courts.

“When a former two-time prime minister says this, of course, it is a decisive verdict on the regime and confirms what we have all been saying for years - Georgia has no judiciary; one person decides everything in Georgia. Even today, when Mdinaradze departed, we saw that this issue was discussed with Bidzina Ivanishvili.

“So, in this rat race, we have seen confirmation of everything that I personally and other colleagues have been saying for years: first, this country is exclusively governed by Ivanishvili; second, this country has no institutions. There is one institution here, and that is the party and its various tentacles - the SSS, the police and the judiciary. But all of these are tentacles of the same body, the political council of ‘Georgian Dream.’ And third, no normal citizen should want to continue trusting this regime, because they are inconsistent, corrupt and willing to do anything. They have confirmed this themselves over the past several months.

“Nothing that we have said has remained unconfirmed by them. This is a very important prerequisite for even the remaining voters of ‘Georgian Dream’ to change their decision and realize that it is no longer possible to continue living in the quagmire into which they have dragged this country. They too will make the right decision and choose other political forces,” Grigol Gegelia said.

For reference, Mamuka Mdinaradze, who most recently served as Regional Development Minister, announced at an emergency briefing held at the Government Administration that he was resigning from his position and leaving politics. According to Mdinaradze, his 10 years in politics had been 10 years of hard work, devotion to his homeland and working with friends to accomplish great things for the country. He also said that he had been considering leaving politics for the past several weeks.

Mdinaradze also said that he may try his hand at another field, including business. Asked about a possible return to politics, he said that this could happen only in a situation of extreme necessity.

“I think I deserve some time to rest and take care of my family. My children have practically grown up without me. If the team really needs me and there is no other solution, I will return only in that case,” Mdinaradze said.