Billionaire's Political Bid Unsettles Georgian Establishment

A wealthy Georgian businessman’s bid to enter politics and challenge President Mikheil Saakashvili has stunned the country’s political class, and threatens to blow next year’s parliamentary election wide open.

Bidzina Ivanishvili’s decision to move into opposition is particularly surprising given that until now, he has been seen as a sponsor of Saakashvili’s government, despite also being close to Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin.

Ivanishvili has long been considered a major source of funding for the government, and his name is linked to some of the infrastructure projects of which Saakashvili is most proud, such as the construction of the Cathedral of the Trinity in the capital Tbilisi, the refurbishment of Tbilisi university, and repairs to parks, hospitals and theatres.

His wealth was estimated at 5.5 billion US dollars in the Forbes List earlier this year,

In one of a series of open letters packed with criticism of the Georgian president, Ivanishvili said, “I have been impelled to take part in creating a political party by Mikheil Saakashvili’s total monopolisation of power and by constitutional amendments that clearly demonstrate his desire to remain in power whatever the limits the constitution imposes on his term,”

Ivanishvili said his party would seek to win a majority in the 2012 election and would push for constitutional change, an end to elite-level corruption, independent courts, and recovering South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which have remained outside Tbilisi’s control since conflicts in the early 1990s.

His decision to enter politics took the ruling party, the United National Movement, UNM, unawares, as it did the opposition. The former was quick to accuse him of acting at Moscow’s behest, and senior members focused on his connections in Russia.

“This oligarch has done business in Russia and made his money there. That alone is enough to make one think about Russian influence,” Pavle Kublashvili, a UNM member of parliament, said.

Kublashvili said that if Moscow tried to interfere in Georgia, it would fail.

“Everyone needs to understand that Georgian society, media and statehood are not for sale,” he said. “There will never be any Russian money in Georgian politics; it will not be run on funds lent or given by Putin.”

Ivanishvili has responded to such allegations by saying he will sell all his property and businesses in Russia if he gains political power in Georgia.

This week, the justice ministry stripped Ivanishvili of Georgian citizenship, saying he automatically lost his right to it when he took out French nationality in 2004.

Non-citizens are barred from participating in political life.

Ivanishvili, who has lived with his family in his home village of Chorvila in western Georgia since 2004, has pledged to abandon French citizenship if he takes up political office.

“Since I have decided to enter politics, I will definitely win. I always keep my word and honour obligations I enter into. And since I’ve promised the Georgian people that I will come to power, I will definitely do so,” he said.

Aside from his political activity, Ivanishvili also intends to buy a television station in Georgia.

In Georgia, Ivanishvili and his wealth have assumed almost mythic status. The only photograph of him circulating on the internet is from the Russian newspaper Vedomosti, published six years ago, and he has not talked to other journalists.

Born in 1956, he moved to Russia in 1988, where he founded the bank Rossiysky Kredit, which formed the basis of his business empire. According to Forbes Magazine, two-thirds of his assets are in Russia.

Iago Kachkachishvili, a lecturer at the Tbilisi State University, said Ivanishvili’s entry into politics would be damaging to Saakashvili, whatever happened.

“The government has never felt itself as comfortable as it does at the moment. It has monopolised power in all areas. The opposition is very weak and demoralised. There are opposition parties with poor ratings whose existence is actually good for the government, as this creates the illusion of democracy,” he said. “But all that has changed with the emergence of Ivanishvili.”

So far, most opposition parties have responded cautiously. Irakli Alasania of the Free Democrats – with whom Ivanishvili says he is prepared to cooperate – has already had a meeting with him.

“During the conversation, we discovered that our visions coincided on all the matters discussed.… Our consultations will shortly continue as we devise a concrete plan for cooperation,” a statement from Alasania’s party said.

David Gamkrelidze, leader of the New Rights party, was more circumspect, saying, “A man can be a good businessman but not a good politician.”

Kachkachishvili said Ivanishvili’s success would depend on his choice of political allies.

“He’s in a good starting position, and that could initially bring him a lot of support. But it’s also a weakness – there’s a real risk he won’t fulfil people’s expectations,” he said.

Ivanishvili has not spoken in public yet, but judging from social networking sites, he has already won some support. His son Bera, a singer, changed his Facebook status to “the time has come to fulfil the Georgian dream”. Within two days, those words had more than 3,000 “likes”.

Nana Kurashvili is a freelance journalist in Georgia.