Former Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia says he can't forgive himself for supporting the Georgian Dream and its founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, Novosti-Gruziya reports.

"It is my mistake and guilt before Georgian people... I have contributed to strengthening of Ivanishvili and Georgian Dream's power because I could not imagine that a person, who had every opportunity, who enjoyed people's confidence and support and who has played an important positive role in the history of Georgia, at the crucial moment due to his personal interests, will stand on the wrong side of the history... and will act behind the back of puppets," Gakharia said. 

He also noted that he resigned exactly two years ago because he realized that the way the Georgian Dream government is going leads to a deadlock.

According to Gakharia, "now is not the time for excuses and complaints, but the time for action" because now Georgia has a chance to become a part of modern, strong Europe.

"At this crucial moment, instead of uniting around the pan-European goal, Bidzina Ivanishvili, through his proxies, has opened a discussion - do we need Europe at all! He is in fact rejecting the Georgian people's centuries-old choice.

He simply does not need Europe to limit his uncontrolled and unlawful power, and forgets that Georgian people have shed blood for the future of Europe," Gakharia says.

In fact, he says, the Dream's supposedly "peaceful" and "cautious" policy puts Georgia in great danger, leaving the country vulnerable, without real friends and facing Russia.

And while the ruling party puts the country's future in direct dependence on Ivanishvili's financial well-being, its opponent, the United National Movement, does so on the fate of Saakashvili, Gakharia noted. 

"On one hand we are being persuaded that we must act so that Ivanishvili's money is protected. On the other side we are told that the main thing is Saakashvili's condition and nothing else matters but his health and comfort. In the end, both sides link Georgia's future either to the name of Ivanishvili or to Saakashvili."

Gakharia resigned in February 2021, claiming disagreement with the party leadership over the arrest of Nika Melia, leader of the largest opposition party, the United National Movement. 

This is one of the few big statements of the former prime minister of Georgia lately - lately Gakharia preferred to distance himself from the processes taking place.  Political analysts predicted that he would become more active this year, closer to the upcoming 2024 parliamentary elections.