Mamuka Mdinaradze, leader of the Georgian parliamentary majority, spoke about Salome Zourabichvili’s impact on the country. He said that she created a wrong idea about the presidential institution.
According to Mdinaradze, this distorted perception was also made by her predecessor. The main issue is that people confuse ceremonial powers with real authority. They think that the president has more power than they actually do.
The leader of the parliamentary majority explained that in a parliamentary republic like Georgia, foreign policy is not decided by the president. It’s determined and executed by Parliament, while the Government implements it. However, presidents often take on too much responsibility, creating false perceptions about their role.
Some people also think that the president should have control over the military. But this is not true. The president’s role in this regard is mostly symbolic and ceremonial. They don‘t need specialized knowledge of military operations to fulfill their duties.
Mamuka Mdinaradze thinks that criticizing candidates based on personal qualities can be unfair, especially when their duties are mainly symbolic or ceremonial. People get confused between what a president should do and what they actually can do.
When asked about the government’s course of action if Salome Zourabichvili remained in the Presidential Palace, Mdinaradze was puzzled. He questioned whether anyone thought she would commit a crime by staying there.