Irakli Garibashvili is acting correctly from his own perspective - he is trying to sell himself as profitably as possible to Bidzina Ivanishvili and to the people who support Georgian Dream. For now, Ivanishvili is not convinced that he should place another bet on Garibashvili,” said Kakha Chikovani, a member of the Freedom Square party, assessing a new letter sent from prison by former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili.

Speaking on PalitraNews’ program “Day Newsroom,” Chikovani said that Bidzina Ivanishvili is observing how events unfold and, from his own perspective, is in no hurry. According to Chikovani, what we are witnessing now is a struggle between two factions, and the negative aspect of all this is that the state is becoming weaker as a result.

In Chikovani’s view, Bidzina Ivanishvili will have his say on the matter, and “whatever this man decides is how things will be in the future.”

“[Although Garibashvili does not mention Kobakhidze in his latest letter,] everyone knows who the collective farm chairman is. Irakli Garibashvili’s letters are not addressed to Georgian society, but to Georgian Dream voters. When he addresses people, he is addressing his own electorate.

From today’s perspective, of course, everyone’s living conditions have deteriorated, but that is not because Garibashvili was a brilliant manager. The political situation was somewhat different at that time - our Western partners acted completely differently, and the then leadership of Georgian Dream also dealt with Western partners somewhat differently. We were not as isolated then as Georgian Dream has isolated the country today. Consequently, this has affected every sphere, including the basic living conditions of every Georgian citizen, and Georgian citizens also include those who support Georgian Dream.

At one point, Irakli Garibashvili’s political weight was greater than that of the current prime minister. Garibashvili’s audience is clearly defined: on the one hand, it is precisely Georgian Dream voters, whom Garibashvili is addressing, and on the other hand, it is Bidzina Ivanishvili himself.

I am deeply convinced that if Irakli Garibashvili is to become Bidzina Ivanishvili’s project, he will have to publish many more letters and do a great deal more work. For now, Bidzina Ivanishvili is not convinced that he should place another bet on Garibashvili.

From his own perspective, Irakli Garibashvili is acting correctly - he is trying to sell himself as profitably as possible to Bidzina Ivanishvili and to people who support Georgian Dream. Whether this means returning to Georgian Dream - which I personally rule out - joining another political force, or creating his own new political party, time will tell. He is doing everything he can to win over the remaining Georgian Dream voters and prove to Ivanishvili that he has no more loyal, more pragmatic, or politically weightier politician than himself,” Kakha Chikovani said.

Regarding reports circulating in political circles that Geka Geladze, who was transferred from the position of head of the State Security Service to the position of deputy interior minister, does not go to work and has not yet appeared at the ministry, Chikovani said that the system as a whole has broken down and that every sphere is “falling apart.”

“This applies to both the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Security Service. When the head of the Security Service and the interior minister are replaced five times a year, what is there even to talk about?! Isn’t institutional stability the main thing here?

I don’t know why Geka Geladze might not be going to his new job or what thoughts are going through his head. I also don’t know what influence he has within the Ministry of Internal Affairs - the main figure here is Bidzina Ivanishvili, and whatever he decides is what will happen. Maybe he is depressed! Starting with the prime minister, none of the other ministers or officials have any political power - they are merely technical personnel,” Kakha Chikovani said.

The program’s guest also noted in this context that the ruling party is doing nothing to strengthen the state, while the only things it is doing are improving the position of clans and strengthening its own power.

“They are ‘standing very firmly on both feet’ when the Iranian ambassador makes yet another absurdly insulting statement! They are ‘standing very firmly on both feet’ when Margarita Simonyan and other Russian propagandists never miss an opportunity to insult us. If that is what they call standing firmly on both feet, society can see everything very clearly.

At one point, they created such a fuss over King Erekle, and I have yet to hear any statement from them in response to the insults directed at us by Margarita Simonyan and Russian society! Is this what standing firmly on both feet and pragmatic politics means?!” Kakha Chikovani said.