Saakashvili’s New Wording on Post-Presidency Question
President Saakashvili said in an interview with EurActiv website, that Prime Minister’s post under the new constitution to be enforced from late 2013 is not so interesting for someone who is now a President.
Asked if he was going to become the PM after his second and final presidential term expires in late 2013, Saakashvili responded, as quoted by EurActiv: “The president retains considerable power under our new constitution and the prime minister is important but completely dependent on the parliament. This is not so interesting a position for a person who is currently president.”
Georgian President’s administration has declined to comment whether Saakashvili’s remarks were rendered accurately.
Most of the current presidential powers will be concentrated in PM’s post after the new constitution goes into force after the election of next President in late 2013.
President Saakashvili has always been noncommittal on the question of his post-presidency role, saying that he would not make any statements on that in order not to become “a lame duck president”.
The previous time when President Saakashvili publicly commented on the issue was in May, 2011 when he told the Ukrainian 1+1 television channel that existence of that “theoretical” chance for him to become the Prime Minister “is useful for us”, because such a possibility was not making him a lame duck president, which in turn was contributing to carrying out “super important” reform agenda his government was facing.
He voiced the same position on the issue in March, 2011 when speaking with PBS television interviewer Charlie Rose. “I will never announce anything now for the sake of not being a lame duck,” Saakashvili said when he was asked if he was considering becoming PM after expiring his second presidential term.
“Can you imagine me saying anything on that – it just automatically undermines the whole [reform] agenda; of course if you are Tony Blair or George Bush in a country [with] well-established institutions it may work – although they had problems; can you imagine a small, aspiring country having a lame duck President at the most resolute moment? I do not think it will work… I am not going to go into those discussions. Those discussions are not helpful for the immediate future of my country,” Saakashvili said in March.