Georgian PM emphasises Bidzina Ivanishvili’s role in strengthening statehood, democracy, human rights in country

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Tuesday said that the role of Bidzina Ivanishvili - the founder and Honorary Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party - in strengthening statehood, democracy, and human rights in Georgia was absolutely exceptional.

In his remarks, Kobakhidze noted that Ivanishvili is a grandmaster of politics, who loves his people and country.

“As everyone knows, the main target of aggression and political attacks by the country’s external enemies and their local agents is Mr. Bidzina Ivanishvili. According to them, the country is not governed by democratic rules, but by Bidzina Ivanishvili alone. In addition, they refer to the democratically elected Government as Ivanishvili’s regime, thereby trying to portray the democracy established since 2012 as an autocracy. We heard such messages during the television debates held on Saturday and yesterday, after which I decided to express my position on this issue to the Georgian public”, the PM said.

“First of all, it should be noted that the role of Bidzina Ivanishvili in strengthening statehood, democracy and human rights in Georgia is absolutely exceptional. I have said it several times and I would like to emphasize it once again that Mr. Bidzina Ivanishvili is a grandmaster of politics and he loves his people and his country”, he continued.

Kobakhidze further added that Ivanishvili’s political weight was based on these two main factors: outstanding intelligence and selfless patriotism.

“It was these two qualities that enabled him in 2012 to do what everyone thought was impossible: to grandmasterically remove from power a foreign agency that had given the green light to any violence from outside the country. At a time when there was no visible force that would give the bloody regime of a foreign agency its rightful place, Mr. Bidzina Ivanishvili, with white gloves, without any violence or insults, removed the regime from power and established democratic governance based on human rights in the country”, he concluded.