Georgia: Ex-PM Plans Party for "Fresh" Leaders

Former Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli -- a figure better known for his business interests than for his political charisma - is launching a new political party. While Noghaideli's supporters maintain that they will modernize Georgian politics, some observers believe that his political appeal is limited.

Noghaideli's December 3 announcement came after months of harsh criticism against President Mikheil Saakashvili and his government. The former prime minister had stayed out of politics since leaving office in November 2007; however, after Georgia's August war with Russia, he joined other former officials in lambasting Saakashvili's policies. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Noghaideli's decision to return to politics mirrors the public rebirth of other formerly prominent Saakashvili allies like former Parliamentary Secretary Nino Burjanadze and former Russian ambassador Erosi Kitsmarishvili. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Yet Noghaideli maintains that he will forge a different path in Georgian politics.

A self-described technocrat, 44-year-old Noghaideli was quick to admit that despite nearly two decades in politics, he has limited popular support -- especially compared to longtime public figures like Burjanadze. "What we are trying to do is something new for Georgia," he said in an interview with EurasiaNet. "We want to establish this party around ideology and policy papers, not only leaders."

A congress to establish Noghaideli's party is slotted for spring 2009. Noghaideli added that the party, also referenced in Georgian as the Movement for a Just Georgia, is "open" to both rank-and-file members and new leaders. "The population, the electorate, is looking for somebody fresh, somebody new," he said.

Fellow supporters, like parliamentarian Petre Mamradze, stressed that Noghaideli's low public profile could work in the party's favor after years of Saakashvili's "promises and PR events." Describing the party as a group of "professionals" who shun the limelight, Mamradze acknowledged that establishing a distinct identity amid Georgia's varied gallery of political personalities will not be "easy."

"[We are] a group of professionals together who never cared for PR actions," said Mamradze, a former head of the State Chancellery. "We just worked and we never cared about press coverage," he said. "We were always trying to ... deliver more that we promised and never promise more than we delivered."

Noghaideli cited an average 10 percent economic growth rate and the alleged creation of "tens of thousands of jobs" as among the promises on which he delivered.

Several ex-parliamentarians and the former deputy chief of Georgia's tax department, Koba Abuladze, have signed on with Noghaideli's movement. Noghaideli and Mamradze are old allies: the two entered parliament together in 1992 as part of the late Zurab Zhvania's team. While Noghaideli went to the Ministry of Finance under former President Eduard Shevardnadze before leaving to start a bank and consulting firm, Mamradze stayed in the government through the Rose Revolution as chancellery chief.

Saakashvili brought Noghaideli back as finance minister before naming him premier after Zhvania's sudden death in 2005. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Akaki Gogichaishvili, the anchor for Georgia's only business news television program, "Business Courier," noted that Noghaideli's government track record is unlikely to sway many voters.

According to Gogichaishvili, while Noghaideli is a known entity in business -- and business leaders are looking for a champion to protect their interests -- he lacks the political muscle to galvanize their support. "[Noghaideli was] not a very popular prime minister," he commented.

Political scientist Koba Turmanidze, however, maintains that Noghaideli and his followers may find a niche by tapping into a new trend in Georgian politics - the "de-radicalization" of voters. "There are some trends, some evidence that there is some de-radicalization of voters," said Turmanidze, an assistant professor of political science at Tbilisi State University. "If voters will go for more balanced politicians, he [Noghaideli] may think there is [a] future for him."

While Turmanidze agreed that the former prime minister represents a "different type" of politician who "does things instead of talking," he stressed that Georgian voters are still more attracted by radical promises than by methodical planning.

Turmanidze added that Noghaideli, like Burjanadze and other former officials, also has one major hurdle to overcome that more established opposition figures do not: They have to explain past connections to the Saakashvili administration. "I think, generally, people are very sensitive about the past," he said, noting that Saakashvili has been the only post-Sheverdnadze politician to successfully distance himself from the shadow of corruption that has stuck to that administration.

Noghaideli stressed that his past is of "no concern" for him as he looks toward a new political future. He highlighted his role in the "very successful" economic reform process while prime minister as a potential magnet for party support. "[My political] baggage is a baggage of results," he said.

Editor's Note: Molly Corso is a freelance reporter based In Tbilisi.