Almost all the goals declared by me have been achieved at the strategic level, writes Bidzina Ivanishvili in his letter, where he explains his decision to leave politics:

“Almost all the goals declared by me have been achieved at the strategic level. Of course, life has made adjustments in the meantime: Two-three years have not been enough to achieve everything; certain issues have not moved from a stand still. For example, such is the problem of the occupied territories –the most difficult legacy that we inherited from the previous government. Tactical goals also changed in order to achieve strategic ones. However, now that two terms of government have passed, our government definitely has the right to look the people in the eye while summarizing the results.

Where We are Coming From

By the fall of 2011, the country was in a dire political and economic situation. The opposition was drained and close to destruction. The last political union in the form of Rviani [Eight] at first and then of Ekvsiani [Six] had already broken up.
You all remember the media and the shape it was in. The ruling party had captured – and was in full control of– all three national broadcasters (Imedi, Rustavi 2, and the Public Broadcaster). Party leaders ran the news domain in line with their own agenda – they determined the sequence of news broadcasting and often even personally wrote texts for the news! A consolidated propaganda machine was set in motion to make use of every means to influence people’s views. It took years to restore justice at these captured TV stations; unfortunately, however, the machine of lies described above continues to work to this day because both the political client in Mikheil Saakashvili and the providers in party functionaries and journalists turned media managers are still very much around. We have changed many things in the country, having dealt with many challenges and tackled numerous problems, but we have yet to defeat lies and uproot them from the news domain – one task that may even be impossible in our modern world. Instead, through proper state governance and rejection of propaganda, we have succeeded in providing people with a free and pluralistic environment. This is precisely why in the end, the majority of citizens can correctly differentiate between good and evil.
The 2020 elections best illustrate the point above.
Let us also call to mind the dire economic situation, the manner in which all business activities were controlled in the country, how the Prosecutor’s Office and Financial Police leeched off businesses, the scale of the sense of fear, and the nature of the actual investment environment. All larger businesses without exception were held hostage by the authorities and pushed around to provide support. Business had lost its key characteristic of being able to make decisions freely. Any more or less large transaction, let alone business deal, was subject to daily personal scrutiny from the chief prosecutor. In the same vein, the economy was just as artificial, with the GEL exchange rate being kept alive with Western financial injections designed to compensate for the lost war in 2008. This mostly took place through a multibillion loan that is still weighing the country and its people down. Business today, however, besides being free, also features representatives who no longer shy away from making political statements or even entering politics. It was precisely the opening of public space and the media, and the essential separation of institutions and politics, that produced this tremendous democratic result.

People Have Matured, They Will not Put Up With a Dictatorship

As an average Georgian, I take delight and pride in our people who, in an extremely short historical period, have come a long way to accumulate unique experience and skills. It is strange, unusual indeed that the National Movement, involuntarily and, of course, totally unwittingly, has played a major role in the ultimate awakening of our society. It is under their barbaric rule that people clearly, plainly saw that the moment you drop your guard, take specious populist promises at face value, and make rash, emotional decisions just to spite someone, that very moment you may, with your own hands, choose a government that will treat you worse than your worst, most cruel, and abusive enemy sparing no effort to rewrite your history and undermine your national values. I am deeply convinced that this is our treasure, claimed through battle, which, I hope, cannot be erased and obliterated despite anyone’s attempts. I will never forget how, after Georgian Dream’s victory in the parliamentary elections, some of my acquaintances and friends told me, “We’ve put our trust in you and supported you. Now it’s your turn to look after the country”. Honestly, these words rocked me to my core. Delegating responsibility is a typical example of Soviet mentality. People must always remain vigilant in scrutinizing authorities. Our society has been through a major transformation. Today, our society, with its political maturity and awareness, can vie with any European counterpart with deep-rooted democratic traditions. Our people have developed immunity against autocracy, growing more courageous, dynamic, active, and resolute, which is why they will not tolerate abusive authorities, intimidation, persecutions, lawlessness, and brazenness for as little as nine weeks, let alone nine years. No government from now on will encounter a capitulating, surrendering society. And I believe that the practice of naively, blindly trusting political leaders is also dead and buried. From now on, every government will be under democratic supervision and strict control from society. Organizationally and structurally, the Georgian Dream, in the course of the past few years, has transformed into a classical European party grounded in genuine Western ideology, in line with my dream and one of my key goals and tasks. Needless to say, the Georgian Dream cannot be favored by most of our society indefinitely. A periodical change of government is inevitable and necessary for advancing to a higher level of development. Once the Georgian Dream cedes power, on the decision of the people and through democratic elections, it will, together with Georgian society, form the main inhibitor and insurance against dictatorship reemerging. The team of Georgian Dream will not allow anyone to trample underfoot and ruin what has been achieved over these most difficult years. Today, the power in its entirety is concentrated in the hands of society. Each voice is appreciated and honored. Real, actual popular sovereignty guaranteed by the Constitution has been restored in Georgia. I hope that people will never again elect authorities that will oppress them, and that our country’s painful experience will be used to build a happy and dignified future. In the course of the past 17 years, the Georgian people have had firsthand experience of seeing the fundamental difference between two drastically different forms of government: When the ruler is master and people are servants, on the one hand, and what we have today, when the government serves the people, on the other. I strongly believe that our society will never make the wrong choice to give up their freedom. Democracy and human rights must be the strong foundation of our nation’s consolidation, which will ultimately help us avert a danger of returning to the dark past”, - writes Bidzina Ivanishvili.