Shalva Natelashvili
Forty-nine-year-old Shalva Natelashvili, founder of the hardline opposition Labor Party, is known for his often sensational accusations against the Saakashvili administration and outspoken criticism of government economic and social welfare policies.
He was born in the small town of Dusheti, in a mountainous area not far from Mtskheta, Georgia's original capital. A graduate in law from Tbilisi State University, Natelashvili was also educated at the Soviet Foreign Ministry's Diplomatic Academy and for 11 years worked in several various positions in the General Prosecutor's Office.
Natelashvili's political career started in 1992 when he became a member of parliament where he remained till 1999. Natelashvili is one of the lawmakers who worked on Georgia's Constitution. In 1995 he founded the Labor Party whose chair he is from the beginning till today. Labour Party became the major opposition force to Shevardnadze's government. The party with the main focus on providing free education and healthcare gained popularity among the economically disadvantaged population of Georgia.
At one point, the party, along with Saakashvili's National Movement Party held the majority of seats in the Tbilisi City Council, a body seen as a key training ground for the national political stage.
Although an outspoken critic of corruption under ex-President Eduard Shevardnadze, Natelashvili did not support the Rose Revolution, terming the revolution's leaders Shevardnadze's "proteges." A subsequent drop-off in the party's supporters meant the party was unable to overcome the 7 percent threshold in the repeat 2004 parliamentary elections. The party won only one seat in the Tbilisi City Council in 2006.
He actively supported the various protest rallies after the Revolution, Natelashvili also gained recent notoriety for his opposition to the government's aggressive privatization campaign, an initiative he has claimed is tainted by state corruption. Critics have usually portrayed Natelashvili as a perennial protestor with a nose for scandal and a liking for dabbling in foreign policy debates. That outlook hardened, though, after the government's release of recorded phone calls and video footage of meetings between the Labor Party leader and alleged Russian intelligence operatives. Subsequent charges of espionage against Natelashvili were later downgraded to an "investigation." He has denied the accusations, telling Russian media that "I am Georgia's agent all over the world, including Russia."
The Labor Party was part of the ten-party opposition coalition that held protests against the Saakashvili administration from November 2-7 in Tbilisi. The partnership crumbled after Natelashvili announced his own bid; the Labor Party is the only opposition party so far to have withdrawn from the coalition.
Natelashvili, faithful to his standard focus, promises the nationalization of "illegally privatized" property, free healthcare and education for underprivileged Georgians, free gas and electricity for three years, reduced water utility prices and compensation for those who lost their savings during the economic crisis of Georgia's early post-Soviet period.
As have Levan Gachechiladze and Davit Gamkrelidze, Natelashvili has expressed support for a constitutional monarchy in Georgia, though adds that "it is a matter of time." In the meanwhile, he has called for a presidency with limited powers.
Website: NA
Address: 88 Javakhishvilis Kucha, Tbilisi
Tel: (995-32) 91-16-17
