Ivanishvili intends to open independent TV broadcaster

The past few days have been quite important in terms of Georgian Dream and Ivanishvili’s future political aims. After the businessman’s wife Ekaterine Khvedelidze’s expressed her intention to enter politics and the return of Cartu Bank’s money, Ivanishvili is interested in the state of TV broadcasting in the country and it appears that a new broadcaster will soon be appearing.

A company co-owned by the wife of billionaire opposition politician Bidzina Ivanishvili took over management of a firm which owns a cable and satellite broadcast license, and plans to launch a new TV channel.

In late December Aktsept LLC in which Ivanishvili’s wife Ekaterine Khvedelidze owns 80% of shares, took the management rights of Igrika, which obtained a cable broadcast license from Georgian National Communications Commission in September and then a satellite broadcast license in December. Igrika was founded by Ilia Kikabidze, who is now director of Tbilisi-based TV station Maestro.

One of Ivanishvili’s spokespersons, Nona Kandiashili, has confirmed that Aktsept LLC had a plan to launch a TV channel. “I am sure that it will be a TV channel with absolutely independent news programming. The viewers will be able to be the judges of the information they receive,” she told Civil.ge

The authorities consider that, in any case, Ivanishvili will not achieve success, as according to them the Georgian people have no wish to return to the “ dark past and see the politicians of the past return to the present”. Thus any step made by Ivanishvili would be useless in persuading the Georgian people that the current course of the Government, which is considered successful and democratic by the international community, has or will have in any way a negative effect on the country’s development and advancement, the authorities think.

The attitudes of the forecasts made by those parties not allied with Ivanishvili were also negative. According to the representative of New Rights Mamuka Katsitadze, Khevedelidze’s activeness is related to the fact that “Ivanishvili has no trusted man around to front his campaign”. He also mentioned that after the elections the union that has centred around Ivanishvili will split.

Such opinion is not shared by Ivanishvili’s group, which explains Khvedelidze’s coming to politics as a temporary fact and a way of not wasting the time it will take for Ivanishvili to get Georgian citizenship and head his own political party.

The decision regarding Khvedelidze seemed natural to analyst Ramaz Sakvarelidze, who does not share the attitude that “Ivanishvili has no trusted man around”. “Ivanishvili had stated that some member of his family would chair his party. At the same time, political figures in his group have their own political parties and herewith Ivanishvili wishes to form his own party and not front someone else’s.” The analyst also mentioned that the new political force has great perspective as it has the ability to attract other forces to it.