“Good to see Ivanishvili finally came out of hiding. His excuses were weak. Challenge accepted! Happy New Year!,” former Prime Minister and the Chairman of the For Georgia party, Giorgi Gakharia responded to news of the Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili’s return to politics.
Ivanishvili was elected honorary chairman of the “Georgian Dream” Congress. About 350 delegates attended the congress.
“The only thing I could not count on was the betrayal of the country and the team by Giorgi Gakharia one month after I distanced myself from politics,” Bidzina Ivanishvili stated, adding he had to take on the function of an advisor after that.
“For the first time since 2018, I have had to turn to politics. I recall the words of the former ambassador of the European Union, an ambassador with whom I was friends with, who told me that if I did not return for a month, there would be nothing left of the ruling party.
“I knew this very well, but from what the ambassador said, I understood that what I saw and assessed looked good from the outside. Then, I fulfilled my mission. We organized the team, set up the system, and after that I left politics for a second time- I had to retire and I had a good reason for doing so.
“The only thing I could not count on was the betrayal of the country and the team by Giorgi Gakharia one month after I distanced myself from politics. Then I had to act as an advisor, and if I didn’t help the team through consultations, the processes would have developed in the most difficult scenario for the country.
“Since then, I have regularly communicated with 2-3 leaders of the party, which helped to maintain a healthy situation in the team. A former leader of the party advising the team is a common occurrence, it happened and is happening in many democratic countries”, Ivanishvili noted.
