Saakashvili Pledges Stability, Amid Formation of New Cabinet

President Saakashvili announced on February 9 that he offered Prime Minister’s position to Finance Minister Zurab Nogaideli only after Nino Burjanadze, the Parliamentary Chairperson rejected to take over the Premier’s post. Saakashvili’s statement follows Nino Burjanadze’s announcement earlier on the same day that she was against Nogaideli’s candidacy. On February 9 Officials also confirmed some details of the pending cabinet reshuffle, which the new Prime Minister intends to carry out.

“Initially, I offered the position of the Prime Minister to Nino Burjanadze; however she rejected the proposal. She thinks that she is more important in the Parliament,” Saakashvili said, adding that afterwards Zurab Nogaideli was nominated.

Saakashvili said during a meeting with parliamentarians that Zurab Nogaideli’s candidacy was not unanimously endorsed during the consultations with other government members and parliamentarians. “But the most important thing is that we should follow up the previous policy of the government and maintain stability,” Saakashvili said while meeting with the MPs elected in single-mandate constituencies.

“The Georgian government has not stopped its work for a single minute. There has been no confusion, not for a moment… Our course things will remain mostly unchanged, but there will be some corrections, of course,” the President stated.

“During a crisis I often make sharp and urgent decisions, however a correct, normal political process can be achieved only through consultations,” the President said.

He said that the new Prime Minister will be accountable to the Parliament and the President, while the latter will be responsible for his decisions. “The person who is finally elected by the Parliament should be under constant control of the Parliament,” Saakashvili added.

Speaking at a briefing on February 9 Nino Burjanadze, the Parliamentary Chairperson, said Nogaideli’s nomination “was a bit unexpected” and “puzzling” for her. Burjanadze said she “was against” Nogaideli’s candidacy, but added that now she is ready to support Nogaideli after he was nominated by Saakashvili. She also claimed that another person was discussed as the most favorable candidate for the PM position during her recent consultations with President Mikheil Saakashvili. She refrained, however, from naming that person.

None the less, speculations have already started to circulate that Burjanadze and Saakashvili agreed to nominate Georgian Ambassador to Russia Valeri Chechelashvili as the Prime Minister. But MP David Gamkrelidze, leader of the New Rights-Industrialists parliamentary faction, said that President Saakashvili “was forced” to nominate Zurab Nogaideli as the Prime Minister by parliamentarians and government members who were regarded as close allies to late Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania.
 
“As far as I know, the President and Burjanadze agreed to nominate Valeri Chechelashvili [the Georgian Ambassador to Russia] as the Prime Minister; however, as a result of blackmailing from the former United Democrats party [Zhvania’s party, which is now officially merged with Saakashvili’s National Movement], the President was forced to agree on Nogaideli’s nomination,” Gamkrelidze said.

Parliamentarians from the ruling National Movement party say that Nogaideli’s candidacy will be endorsed by the Parliament. However, all the MPs stress that Nogaideli should “adapt” to this new position by “giving up his hard line, inflexible stance.”

Nino Burjanadze said some personal traits possessed by the Finance Minister, such as his excessively direct manner of communication and inability to seek compromise, “bother not only [her] but also many of [Nogaideli’s] colleagues.”

Meanwhile, parliamentarians from the ruling party, particularly, Roman Gotsiridze, Chairman of the Finance and Budgetary Committee and Kote Gabashvili, the Chairman of Foreign Affairs Committee, confirmed those anticipated changes in the cabinet which were reported by the Georgian media earlier on February 9. This will be the third reshuffle of the Georgian cabinet for less than eight months.

Particularly, Georgia’s Ambassador to Russia Valeri Chechelashvili will replace Zurab Nogaideli, who was nominated on the Prime Minister’s position, as the Finance Minister; Kote Kemularia, who currently is the Chairman of the Supreme Court, will take over the Justice Minister’s position, replacing Giorgi Papuashvili; the latter will be nominated as the Minister of Environment, replacing Tamar Lebanidze. Other Ministers will retain their posts. It is not known yet who will become Georgia’s new Ambassador to the Russian Federation.