Saakashvili resigns as Odesa regional administration head

Mikheil Saakashvili, the former Georgian president who took the helm as the Odesa regional head for the Presidential Administration, announced on Nov. 7 that he is resigning after 17 months of service. He told a press conference that he can’t conduct numerous reforms, which are have been sabotaged by the Presidential Administration.

He accused President Poroshenko of personally backing three criminal clans in the region, one led by Odesa mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov, another based in the city of Izmayil and a third group that he alleged consists of pro-Russian separatists. “The Odesa oblast is not being surrendered only to corrupt people, it’s being surrendered to Ukraine’s enemies,” he said. “I don’t intend to keep quiet about this. I am truly fed up with this.”

Saakashvili’s resignation could accelerate the process of launching a new political party, Khvylia (Wave), said on Nov. 7 MP Natalia Novak, a member of its initiating group, as reported by Interfax-Ukraine. One of her colleagues, MP Viktor Chumak, said earlier that Saaskashvili could lead this party.

Zenon Zawada: Saakashvili is among the last holdouts of the wave of post-Maidan reformers to attempt some kind of changes, only to be thwarted. While he is as cunning as any post-Soviet politician, we also believe he had genuine reform projects that he wanted implement, if only for the purpose of impressing his Western colleagues in the political establishment, as well as the electorate. 

Leading a new, reform-driven political party at the national level is the next logical step for Saakashvili, whose press conference yesterday made it obvious that he’s got broader political horizons in Ukrainian politics. For the first time, he made a direct attack on the president, indicating the gloves are off. Indeed the political arena is wide open for a new political project to becoming a top three party and Saakashvili has as much potential as any candidate as anyone to become its figurehead.