TBILISI, Feb 9 (AFP) - President Mikhail Saakashvili of Georgia has singled out his ally, Finance Minister Zurab Nogaideli, as next prime minister to complete economic reforms begun in the Caucasian republic by his predecessor who died last week.
Nogaideli, whose nomination was announced Tuesday, is considered both an ally of Saakashvili and close associate of Zurab Zhvania, who died accidentally last Thursday.
"Nogaideli was the man who implemented Zhvania's economic and financial policy and he will continue the work of the former prime minister," said Sandro Tvalshrelidze, an economist who knows the new prime minister well.
Saakashvili, a US-trained lawyer, was elected president on promises of ending entrenched corruption and rehabilitating the near bankrupt economy.
He launched a programme of liberal reforms, including scrapping many regulations, drastically cutting taxes and privatising most state-held assets.
Zhvania, seen as the driving force behind market-oriented economic reform, was found dead in an apartment in Tbilisi after apparently succumbing to inadequately ventilated carbon monoxide fumes from a heater.
Parliament will have to confirm Nogaideli as prime minister at the end of this month.
Some observers see his appointment as a means for Saakashvili to strengthen his own position.
At only 41, Nogaideli is already something of an old hand in post-communist politics in Georgia, once a Soviet constituent republic which became independent 1991 with the Soviet collapse.
A physics graduate from Moscow State university, he became a Georgian parliamentary deputy in 1989 when the republic was still part of the Soviet Union. When it became independent, he became leader of the new Greens environmentalist party.
In 2001, Nogaideli was appointed finance minister under Georgia's former president Eduard Shevardnadze but was fired in a personality clash.
He worked in private business until the "rose revolution" of November 2003, when Saakashvili came to power on the back of a popular movement against Shevardnadze. Nogaideli was re-appointed finance minister.
In propelling him to head of government, the pro-western president is thus putting the accent on completing Zhvania's reforms, analysts say.
Zhvania was acknowledged as a man of exceptional qualities in addressing Georgia's problems, whether the economy, dealing with separatist minorities, uneasy relations with Russia, or maintaining internal stability.
Analysts were divided Wednesday about Nogaideli.
"Nogaideli was a good finance minister, he did good work last year and he's a good choice," said Levan Ramishvili of the Freedom Institute.
"He is less gifted than Zhvania, and perhaps he won't be able to to take certain initiatives dictated by a changing economic context," said Sandro Tvalshrelidze, who sees Nogaideli more as an executive implementing policy than a strategist.
Neither does the newcomer share his predecessor's gift for dialogue.
"This is not the best choice for prime minister," said Niko Orvelashvili, an economist who has worked with Nogaideli on ambitious tax reforms:
"He was good in the finance ministry but a feel for negotiation is crucial to the prime minister's job and this is not one of his strengths."
After independence Georgia became trapped in economic crisis combined with rampant corruption.
The prime minister's death was a reminder that no one is immune from the nation's crumbling infrastructure.
The gas supply in winter, primarily from Russia, has been cut back because Georgia could not afford to to pay its bills.
Roads are in a poor state and frequently subside, the water supply fails to meet basic sanitary standards, and frequent cutoffs of electricity affect refrigeration and lead to food poisoning on a large scale.
02/09/2005 14:54 GMT - AFP