Georgia: Ivanishvili's cabinet picks show pro-western orientation

Billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, whose Georgian Dream party won last week’s parliamentary election, announced the first selections to his cabinet yesterday. Ivanishvili himself expects to become prime minister. Though he named the bulk of his picks (almost a dozen of 18 spots in the cabinet), he was mum on who he would nominate for finance minister and economy minister. He said he expected to announce those candidates in the coming days.

Notable selections announced include:

* Maia Panjikidze, former Georgian ambassador to Germany and the Netherlands, as foreign minister

* Irakli Alasania, former Georgian ambassador to the UN, as defence minister and deputy prime minister

* Kakha Kaladze, former AC Milan and Dynamo Kyiv football star, as regional development & infrastructure minister and another deputy prime minister

The latest report from the Georgian Central Election Commission has Georgian Dream taking 83 seats in the 150-seat parliament and current President Mikheil Saakashvili’s United National Movement – the remaining 67.

Brad Wells: Ivanishvili’s foreign policy picks, in particular, look encouraging as he tapped people familiar with Georgian affairs abroad that should continue to carry on the pro-Western path that has blossomed under Saakashvili. This should start to dispel some of the fears of a sharp policy shift under Ivanishvili, but at the same time his economy & finance minister picks will be equally important. Another notable development has been Saakashvili’s statesmanlike handling of the transition so far – teams from both parties met last week to discuss the handoff and local media reports indicate Ivanishvili and Saakashvili will meet face-to-face today. Saakashvili has said he will accept Ivanishvili’s cabinet and put them forward for approval.