Walking the ‘Other’ Road: Squabbles for Leadership

OP-ED

Following a year-long reconciliation, the Prime Minister and the President had a fight. Again. This time the reason is much more serious than the one a year ago with former Prime Minister Garibashvili. At that time the argument was not about any particularly significant political concepts but rather who would give a formal speech in the UN and who in the Council of Europe; and who would sign this or that international document…No, this time the issue is much more complicated, seeing PM Kvirikashvili and President Margvelashvili confronting each other over announced changes that are planned to be made to the country’s supreme law. The issue on the table? Who will the lead the committee which will make these changes to the Constitution.

In his first announcement following the victory of Georgian Dream in the elections held on October 8, PM Kvirikashvili addressed the upcoming constitutional reform, not economic or judicial, but constitutional, about the rules of presidential election. Other “faces” of the party supported him, saying that this constitutional reform should be such that nobody should ever be able to “cut and sew” the supreme document in future. And by “such reform” they mean the rule of presidential election in the first place. Everyone, from the Speaker of Parliament to an ordinary MP from the ruling party, assures society that it will be much better if the successor of President Margvelashvili is chosen by parliament instead of being elected through elections. Apparently, the election rules are much more essential for the Georgian Dream than the notorious “same sex marriage” issue or moving parliament from Kutaisi to the capital.

On the initiative of the Prime Minister, the Chairman of Parliament Irakli Kobakhidze will also head a 60-member Constitutional Commission of reforms. However, President Margvelashvili believes that this committee should be established under the President rather than parliament and should be headed by the President himself, as the presidential institution is the one that balances the various branches of the government. Events developed so rapidly that the creation of the Constitutional Commission wasn’t hindered even by the drastic devaluation of the national currency nor the economic crisis in the country. The Committee was created and is headed by Kobakhidze. Now, we can easily imagine the verdict that it will dictate. The President will have no chance of running for presidency. To be more precise, he will have an opportunity to announce his candidacy, but according to the future reform, the Parliamentary majority consisting of the Georgian Dream will simply not choose him. And apparently the President and his Administration refused to join the Parliamentary Constitutional Commission exactly because of that prospect. Although legislation does not forbid him from creating a Constitutional Committee of his own, in the end, according to the law, the project will have to be presented to parliament anyway. So all roads lead to the Georgian Dream, which has the majority of MPs and where Margvelashvili will be forced to face a big “No”.

Perhaps that is why the President chose to concentrate on other activities. As Lenin used to say, he decided to walk the other road. Margvelashvili’s supporters are no longer hiding that Margvelashvili will announce the creation of his own party; even the leaders of the new party are allegedly known to be the former Speaker of the Parliament Davit Usupashvili and the group that left the Republican Party with him; the ex-Defense Minister’s party – Free Democrats; and Giga Bokeria’s group that left the United National Movement. The fact that President Margvelashvili has started political activities was further proved by his meeting with the Free Democrats, who were seen by the media leaving his summer house in Dusheti. Moreover, before that Margvelashvili met Giga Bokeria in his Presidential Palace. As for Usupashvili and his supporters, they have yet to meet Margvelashvili.

One of the leaders of the group, Vakhtang Khmaladze, said that first they need to choose whether or not to join the Parliamentary Constitutional Commission. Apparently, the former Republicans plan to function as the Trojan Horse once again, but where they will be this time- with the president in the opposition or with the committee with the parliament -has yet to be decided.

Zaza Jgarkava