New changes to Cabinet, and no trace of saved Georgia

Georgian government is waiting for new appointments. On the evening of January 30 Georgia's President Mikheil Saakashvili presented Nika Gilauri as a new candidate for the post of Prime Minister. For over a month he has been both Finance Minister and Interim Prime Minister.

Besides the president introduced a draft law on structural changes in the government for the parliament's approval. Two new ministries will be established - Ministry of Infrastructure and Ministry of Penalty Execution. The modified Cabinet will consider the parliament's bureau at its meeting today.

The parliamentary opposition has already announced its refusal to vote for Gilauri. However the votes of the pro-presidential majority are enough for the appointment to be approved.

The version of shifts inside the government has been discussed in the Georgian media since early January. Before that, in late December Alia newspaper reported that Saakashvili had hit Prime Minister Mgaloblishvili and then thrown a telephone at him. The grounds for the incident were not specified. However journalists with reference to their own sources asserted that Prime Minister had submitted resignation and got a turndown. Mgaloblishvili threatened he would disclose details of the quarrel with the head of the state in that case. After that he fell ill.

Since then, that is since late December, we repeat, the 35-year-old Prime Minister could not cope with the illness that had overcome him.

On January 5 the head of Prime Minister's press service Avtandil Pavlenishvili stated that Mgaloblishvili was in Germany due to deterioration of health and was undergoing extensive medical check-up. Because of general overwork Prime Minister had complications of acute renal failure (disorder of kidney function). Prime Minister was back in mid January but already a few days later he was again taken to hospital. The opposition and Georgian media were foretelling: in February Mgaloblishvili will resign to be replaced by ambitious Nika Gilauri.

Till the very last moment, till January 30 when Mgaloblishvili announced his resignation at the briefing the president called the replacement of Prime Minister mere rumors. In particular, last week he stated on TV that he was not going to replace Prime Minister. And now he presents another candidate for the Chairman of the Cabinet.

As it was ironically pointed out by Alia newspaper newly appointed Gilauri "is quite healthy and likes dancing at discos". At the same time according to "Vremya novostey" in a couple of months he may be replaced by current speaker Daivd Bakradze who was in hospital for half of January by the way.

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