A man ahead of his time
Fate of Georgian ex-president Saakashvili

ANALYTICS  07 July 2023 - 11:49

Today, all the attention of the world community is riveted to Ukraine, and the events taking place in Georgia only periodically arouse interest. And this interest is mainly connected with the fate of the former president of the country, Mikheil Saakashvili.

Recall that after pro-Russian forces supported by the Russian oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili came to power, Saakashvili was detained after illegally crossing the border and put on trial, where he was sentenced to a long-term for allegedly embezzling public funds during his presidency. During his imprisonment, Saakashvili was greatly weakened physically, but according to the former president himself, he has grown stronger morally and is ready to fight to the end.

Much has been said about the phenomenon of Saakashvili, but we can briefly dwell on his main achievements as president. First of all, it is, of course, the fight against corruption. Saakashvili not only made the activities of government agencies and businesses transparent but was able to return the millions stolen by officials from the people and return this money to the treasury. With these confiscated funds, schools, hospitals, and many kilometres of modern roads were built in Georgia, which, together with other infrastructure, served as a powerful impetus for the development of the Georgian economy.

The money was returned by far from the most democratic methods, corrupt officials were tortured, and police officers were fired by the thousands and replaced with young cadres. The dismissed, together with their relatives, made up a fairly large army of Saakashvili's enemies.

Problems were added by the loss of the Russian capacious market, which consumes the lion's share of traditional Georgian products - wine, mineral water, and agricultural products, which generally affected the income level of the population and increased the number of dissatisfied people in the country.

Ivanishvili immediately took advantage of all this and confidently overtook Saakashvili in the presidential race in 2012, and his Georgian Dream party firmly established itself on the political pedestal of Georgia.

As we remember, after the defeat in his homeland, Saakashvili tried his luck in Ukraine Having received the citizenship of Ukraine and the powers of the governor of the Odesa region, he zealously saddled his reformist horse, however, having been rebuffed by local mafia clans and not having received the support of the then President of Ukraine Poroshenko, he was forced to leave his post and go to the camp of the opposition.

There, Saakashvili was not particularly allowed to turn around and, in the fall of 2021, he returned to Georgia, where he fell under the harsh hand of Ivanishvili’s controlled judiciary.

In prison, during the investigation, Saakashvili many times appealed to his party (United National Movement), Western curators, and the leadership of his second homeland, Ukraine, for help in getting out of the dungeons. However, apparently, he is expected to many years behind bars and has very vague prospects for a further political career.

Why we tend to give such a pessimistic forecast will be explained below:

First, Saakashvili's reforms were too hasty and affected too much of society, which allowed the formation of a significant protest electorate. The pro-Russian forces took advantage of this very competently and being currently in power, they only strengthen it, establishing both economic and political ties with Russia. These forces are clearly not interested in M. Saakashvili's parole and his return to active political activity.

Second, the West, as always, is too cautious and slow in supporting its creatures, while the emergence of figures such as Ivanishvili provided financial support for the pro-Russian forces on an almost unlimited scale.

Third, the second homeland of the former president is too busy directly with its war with Russia to spoil relations with Georgia, trying to rescue Saakashvili from captivity. Yes, Ukraine is obliged to take care of its citizens and periodically calls for the release of the former president or at least extradite him to its territory. However, these attempts are not very active and break against the blank wall built by the Georgian authorities on this issue.

Thus, Saakashvili's attempts to change his society in a revolutionary way, and not in an evolutionary way, ended very sadly for him. As for whether he will be reborn as a politician after the conclusion, like a Phoenix bird, it is impossible to say, since this process will be influenced by too many key factors, such as the outcome of the Ukrainian-Russian war or the state of the world economy.

Caliber.Az