According to Irakli Pavlenishvili, Chair of the United National Movement’s Governing Council, Regional Development Minister Mamuka Mdinaradze’s resignation and departure from politics are linked to a “clan” struggle, a confrontation with Irakli Garibashvili, and the extraction of money.

As Pavlenishvili told journalists, “this system is rotten to the core, and mobilization is needed to finally put an end to it.”

“We have said many times that this is characteristic of such oligarchic, corrupt regimes: ‘clan’ struggles begin, and in these struggles they sacrifice one another. That is why Garibashvili is afraid for the safety of his family members; beneath Ivanishvili, everyone is against everyone else, some families inform on one another and give testimony. Ultimately, we end up with some people in prison, some being shot, some leaving politics, and so on,” Pavlenishvili said.

According to him, representatives of “Georgian Dream” should understand that they too are not protected from imprisonment or persecution of their family members.

“This is a system that devours its own children. First and foremost, they need to understand this. For us, this should be a signal: this system is rotten to the core, and mobilization is needed to finally put an end to it,” Pavlenishvili said.

He said that Mamuka Mdinaradze’s explanation for leaving office was unconvincing.

“Many such people ultimately either ended up in prison or suffered gunshot wounds under unclear circumstances. Therefore, the statements these people make after leaving are unconvincing, especially given that first they created a position specifically for him, then pushed him out of politics, and ultimately we saw what happened,” Pavlenishvili said.

He believes that Mdinaradze’s resignation and departure from politics are connected to many factors, including former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili’s letter.

“There is a great deal of turmoil going on internally. This is connected to a ‘clan’ struggle, the confrontation with Garibashvili, the extraction of money, and the fact that Ivanishvili failed to stabilize the situation and is himself in crisis,” Pavlenishvili 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.