In Georgian politics all roads lead to Mikheil Saakashvili – as soon as a disagreement arises between the government and the parliamentary majority both sides address the president to “find justice.” Incidentally, disagreements and divergence of opinions have intensified considerably recently. Hence it is not surprising that MPs once again headed for the State Chancellery before discussing important bills on the plenary session; as soon as the Parliamentary Bureau session ended, the majority members held consultations with the president.

Finding common ground between the ruling faction and the government is an especially difficult endeavor in regards to so-called “financial amnesty.” Moreover, this issue has brought about certain misunderstandings even within the parliamentary majority. For instance, Levan Bezhashvili, chair of the Legal Affairs Committee, says the MPs are not acquainted with the final text of the bill. In response to this, Gia Khuroshvili, parliamentary secretary of the government, waved the conclusion of the Legal Affairs Committee, signed by deputy chair Nino Kalandadze.

The conclusion does not represent an exhaustive list of misunderstandings. According to Roman Gotsiridze, chair of the Finance-Budgetary Committee, the issue of “financial amnesty” is not yet clarified and the state leadership should decide who should be covered by the amnesty.

The situation irritates Nino Burjanadze, parliamentary chairwoman, who demands that the issue be settled in “working conditions.” Hence, so far it remains nebulous whether financial amnesty will be voted on with the first hearing in this session week.

Several question marks exist in regards to the new tax code, too, which the parliament is to start discussing today. At the yesterday’s bureau session, Finance Minister Zurab Noghaideli himself named those issues the government and the parliamentary majority could not agree upon – tax on imported vehicles, property tax, and the date of launching the value-added tax.

According to Giorgi Kheviashvili, chair of the Agrarian Issues Committee, the list of issues yet to be agreed upon is extensive and the issues mainly touch upon the field of agriculture. As Kheviashvili stated, if the government does not consider his committee’s opinions, he will present alternatives to certain articles of the draft tax code at the plenary session.

Elene Tevdoradze, chair of the Human Right Protection Committee, also threatened to present alternative proposals. Tevdoradze has claims regarding the draft law on Broadcasting, which parliament is to discuss at the second hearing this week. It is also noteworthy that the government and the majority have not yet reached a consensus in regards to the issue of financing public television.

The “clamorous” bill on Higher Education is also notable among the items on the plenary session agenda. Nodar Grigalashvili, chair of the Education and Science Committee, seeks that the adoption of the bill at the second and third hearing be managed during the fall session in order for the appropriate structures to have time to properly hold admissions exams for higher education institutions.

The holding of the governmental hour is also planned at the supreme lawmaking body this week, which will focus on Goga Khaindrava, the State Minister for Conflict Resolution Issues. At the demand of the Rightist Opposition, the minister will have to speak about the processes underway in Abkhazia as well as the issue of South Ossetia’s demilitarization.