bidzina ivanishvili ii 2013-02-05

Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili. (Press office photo.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili seems to be sticking to his word and really plans to leave politics after two years in the game.

On Monday, he issued another open letter explaining the reasons for his leaving. But again, he left the main question — who is going to replace him — unanswered beyond writing that it will be ‘a very interesting person’.

“I came to power in order to protect society and we have successfully managed [to do] that, as the government nowadays is better than all its predecessors and society is as protected as it can be from the government’s arbitrariness,” he writes, recalling his first open letter published about two years ago, in which he wrote that he was planning to win the parliamentary election and come into government, and then leave after two years.

“By going into politics on October 4, 2011, I literally sacrificed myself and my family,” he writes towards the end of the letter. He adds that he is sure it won’t be necessary, but if needed, he will return to active politics.

The PM writes that his public functions nowadays can be divided into three main areas: 1) government (Prime Minister); 2) political (being leader of Georgian Dream coalition) and 3) society (active citizen).

“I plan to refuse the first two functions and spend all free resources on the third function. I do this because I have already fulfilled my moderate role for the first and second functions and I believe my team members will continue what I started even better without me,” he writes. “But the third is most important and much needs to be done there, but those doing it are very few.”

Ivanishvili says he is not leaving but stays ‘here’ and plans to work where ‘he is most needed.’ Another of his goals is to distribute power and responsibility among his political partners, in order not to leave the country to a one-man-government.

The PM writes that he thinks the government ministers have been perfectly selected and that the government is as effective as it can be.

“I don’t have anything personal against Mikheil Saakashvili or any other politician. My mission is to end missions of messiahs in Georgia and to do this it is not enough to only defeat the messiah. It is necessary to guarantee not to become a messiah myself,” he writes.

The PM writes that if he stays he will risk becoming a person who has ‘overrated trust’ among people.