Composed, principled and articulate, Dr. Nino Burdnanadze, 39-years-old chairperson of the Georgian parliament has it all to stay on top of Georgia’s politics. Unless, of course, she does not choose otherwise.
Dr. Burjanadze says she was afraid, when she was elected a parliamentary chairperson in a deeply strained climate of partisan rivalry, when both ruling and opposition coalitions were collapsing in November 2001. A compromise candidate, she manages so far to steer what has become a ramshackle assembly torn by the pre-election ambitions to the finish line of fall 2003, when the new elections are to be held. But the major battles for the budget and the new election law are still ahead.
The first female to chair the Georgian parliament, she is one of very few who was led to politics by the professional path, not through the stormy public rallies of 1990s or the quieter corridors of the soviet nomenklatura.
Graduate of the law department of Tbilisi State University, she got her doctoral degree in international organizations and maritime law at Moscow State University in 1990. Since 1991 taught the international organizations’ course at the International Law and Relations department of Tbilisi State University. Her students say they frequently recognize the tone and skill of a professor when she handles her colleagues at the stormy sessions.
Burjanadze became MP in 1995, already having consulted the foreign relations since 1991. She chaired the legal committee in 1998-99 and the foreign relations committee in 2000-2001. Currently, she is also a first non-partisan parliamentary chairperson, with only herself to rely on in the political battles.
However, some of her critics disagree with an image of Burjanadze a lonely warrior. Burjanadze family is quite influential, with her father steering the major state grain-mills and controlling large share of the bread production. Her husband, Mr. Badri Bitsadze, is the deputy general prosecutor.
But Burjanadze angrily sidelined the mock-title of the "Bread Princess" that some sharp tongues used against her in the beginning of the political ascent, hinting at financial backing of her father. She also managed to steer clear from accusations of the conflict of interests, when her husband was appointed to the prosecutor’s office. Burjanadze says although she was "hesitant" to agree on her husband’s decision, "everybody sees that none of us [herself and Mr. Bitsadze] have used the positions for the political gains." Today, as a parliamentary chairperson Dr. Burjanadze claims she "is not satisfied" by the work of the prosecutor general’s office.
Burjanadze argues she is "very free and independent, and does only things [she] believe[s] are correct." This principled and almost militant commitment to her beliefs in the parliament earned her some public respect and reputation. She is also liked for targeted and professional rebuke of some of Russia’s accusations, especially as they were delivered with her flawless Russian with a slight Muscovite accent.
While the politics are her chief occupation parliamentary chairperson is sad she can not be as attentive mother to her two boys as she would have liked to. But Burjanadze says she is happy to have a loving husband and hopes that her children understand that their mother "does something important for the country."
For her education and humane attitude, Burjanadze is received well both in the capital and in the rural areas. She acts as a woman – caring and even apologetic for many shortfalls of the government, which earns some respect in contrast to more bossy male political figures. "I have enough conscience to apologize, because we [the government] fail to provide even the simplest services. People have full right to be far more aggressive against this government, but they, amazingly, are not."
In a sharply divided and quickly radicalizing political landscape of Georgia, Nino Burjanadze with her moderate stance increases her popularity. In December 2002, 49% of Tbilisi residents supported her policies, a significant growth from 17% in August of the same year. But with all signs of the political support on the eve of elections, Burjanadze is hesitant to throw her weigh behind any of the political parties.
This may indeed prove a winning strategy. If Burjanadze chooses to run as an independent majoritarian candidate this year, she has excellent chances of making it into the parliament once again. But the prospects for retaining high public visibility under these conditions will depend on the partisan composition of the next parliament, and it is still anybody’s game. In case the new parliament does not have a clear majority, Burjanadze’s name can surface once again as a compromise leader.
Some observers of the Georgian politics even say, if the new parliament makes constitutional changes to significantly reduce the presidential competences, Burjanadze would have fair chances to succeed as a figurehead president after Shevardnadze leaves office in 2005.
So far, Dr. Burjanadze has showed she is a capable manager and enlightened leader. But her future largely depends on her own decisions. It is a luxury in the current Georgian politics, where the image of the most leaders is largely formed, and constituencies are, more or less, shaped. So far, Dr. Burjanadze is waiting.