Bidzina Ivanishvili, the chairman of the Georgian Dream, is leaving politics.
Ivanishvili published an open letter and talked about the nine years since the Georgian Dream came to the power.
“I understand very well that despite such tangible successes, poverty – which remains to be overcome – is the main challenge and problem facing our country. Many families remain in need, whose everyday life has been made even more difficult by the global pandemic. Many of our fellow citizens are expending a great deal of effort to adequately feed their families, ensure that their children receive a quality education, and in order to have decent living conditions.
Indeed, poverty is an objective reality that I view with heartache but I cannot accept the accusation that the poverty that we inherited is the result of the Georgian Dream's rule.
I have said on numerous occasions and I will reiterate again today that today's poverty is a problem that has accumulated over decades and dates back to the time when we destroyed our newly established state with our own hands. Today's poverty is the result of the continuous decline and cataclysms that our country has endured for twenty years since gaining independence.
We have managed to stop the decline, we gave rise to progress, and we reduced poverty, the final overcoming of which will require the selfless work of the government, peace, stability, democracy, and some more time.
Naturally, not everything turned out as we had hoped, or as well as we all had expected. Unfortunately, along with objective reasons, there were also shortcomings and missteps. We Georgians are mostly emotional people – dreamers – and although the Georgian Dream government has very nearly achieved the maximum of what was possible, I would like to sincerely apologize to those who expected more from us, those who expected a faster improvement in economic conditions and were disappointed”, - Ivanishvili writes.
According to him, through years-long tireless efforts, they have laid the foundation for eliminating poverty and securing rapid economic progress.
“We also launched a momentous educational reform, because we strongly believe that education is the shortest path to freedom building on prosperity. Georgia’s economy is on the right track, notwithstanding the fact that the coronavirus has cut down domestic and foreign investment activities. A maximally free and tolerant environment exists for entrepreneurial activities and competition.
We have once and for all put an end to government favoritism in business and monopolies created to enrich those in power. Georgian Dream has ushered in a reliable constitutional and legislative system for democratic control and checks and balances. We have uprooted the practice of disproportionate involvement of law enforcement and security services in policy-making, the cornerstone of the previous government’s criminal dealings. Today, Georgia’s government is impartial and balanced, and no one enjoys disproportionate, unwarranted, excessive power. Each branch of government has strictly defined and delineated authority. Today, we have a caring, friendly, and people-oriented government”, Bidzina Ivanishvili’s open letter reads.
