Saakashvili leads Kiev protest against Poroshenko
Mikheil Saakashvili
They call  him  âthe Energizer Bunny.â
To  his  supporters   Mikheil Saakashvili   the former Georgian president  is a tireless warrior against corruption and Vladimir Putinâs Russia who transformed his graft-ridden country into a showcase for Western reforms and is one of the most charismatic figures in the post-Soviet sphere.
To  his  enemies  of whom there are many   he  is a confrontational and divisive showboat who has a predilection at times toward authoritarianism and is consumed with a lust for power.
But both sides agree on one thing:  He  doesnât give up a political fight.
Today  Saakashvili  finds  himself  locked in yet another bitter battle â in Ukraine. And  his  main target is an old friend from  his  university days in Kiev in the late 1980s: the countryâs president  Petro Poroshenko.
 Saakashvili âs biography has seen numerous turns. A graduate of Columbia Law School  he spearheaded Georgiaâs 2003 âRose Revolutionâ and became a poster boy for the Bush administrationâs international pro-democracy agenda. (The U.S. Secret Service first gave him the âEnergizer Bunnyâ moniker.) He built a glass-walled police headquarters in Tbilisi to underscore his commitment to molding a modern and transparent force.
âThrow the goat out!â  Saakashvili  said in reference to Poroshenko  whom  he  accuses of corruption and blocking reforms to protect  his  allies. Later   he  called  the Ukrainian president  âa cheap Mafioso.â
The government is fighting back. This year  Ukrainian authorities said  Saakashvili  incorrectly filled out his citizenship application  and they stripped him of the Ukrainian passport he obtained in 2015  barring him from entering the country. (He was in the United States at the time of the announcement.) The move drew heavy international criticism and rendered  Saakashvili  a stateless former head of state  since Georgia had revoked his passport when he received Ukrainian citizenship.
In September   Saakashvili  responded by storming through a border crossing into Ukraine with hundreds of  his  supporters.  He  subsequently announced a âunited oppositionâ against Poroshenko and barnstormed the country to garner support and raise  his  profile.
Last week  Ukraineâs prosecutor general  Yuri Lutsenko  a Poroshenko ally  announced that authorities had rejected Saakashviliâs petition for political asylum  opening up his possible deportation to Georgia  where he is wanted on charges of embezzlement and abuse of power while in office.  Saakashvili  says the case against  him  in Georgia is a political witch hunt.
Lutsenko also accused  Saakashvili  of trying to organize âa violent coupâ and obtaining visas for 20 of his Georgian supporters under false pretenses.  Saakashvili   for  his  part  denied the accusations and said authorities had illegally seized and deported a number of  his  followers.
âThe general prosecutor is lying completely!â  Saakashvili  wrote in a Facebook post  claiming that Ukrainian law allowed him to stay in the country.
For  Saakashvili   deportation would be an ignominious end to what was supposed to be  his  political resurrection. When  he  arrived in Ukraine over two years ago as an exile  Poroshenko installed  him  as Odessa governor in hopes that the Georgian could work  his  reformist magic on one of Ukraineâs most corrupt regions.
â Mikhail Saakashvili  is my friend from our student years. I remember  him  as a strong and decisive person  and I have reason to trust  him  â Poroshenko tweeted at the time.
The trust  however  soon turned into open antipathy.  Saakashvili  said the Kiev government was impeding  his  reforms and resigned as governor one year later  lashing out at PoroÂ­shenko and other top officials.  He  launched  his  own political movement and started a talk show. On one episode  a female war veteran sang a song called âThe Chocolate Ass.â Few missed the reference: Poroshenko is a billionaire candy tycoon.
But there are political figures  including within the opposition itself  who are uncomfortable with  Saakashvili âs emergence as a Ukrainian rabble-rouser â the demonstration in front of the parliament being a case in point  they say.
They call  him  âthe Energizer Bunny.â
To  his  supporters    [TGT]    the former Georgian president  is a tireless warrior against corruption and Vladimir Putinâs Russia who transformed  [TGT]  graft-ridden country into a showcase for Western reforms and is one of the most charismatic figures in the post-Soviet sphere.
To  his  enemies  of whom there are many   he  is a confrontational and divisive showboat who has a predilection at times toward authoritarianism and is consumed with a lust for power.
But both sides agree on one thing:  He  doesnât give up a political fight.
Today  Saakashvili  finds  himself  locked in yet another bitter battle â in Ukraine. And  his  main target is an old friend from  his  university days in Kiev in the late 1980s: the countryâs president  Petro Poroshenko.
  [TGT]  âs biography has seen numerous turns. A graduate of Columbia Law School  he spearheaded Georgiaâs 2003 âRose Revolutionâ and became a poster boy for the Bush administrationâs international pro-democracy agenda. (The U.S. Secret Service first gave him the âEnergizer Bunnyâ moniker.) He built a glass-walled police headquarters in Tbilisi to underscore his commitment to molding a modern and transparent force.
âThrow the goat out!â   [TGT] said in reference to Poroshenko  whom   [TGT]   accuses of corruption and blocking reforms to protect   [TGT]   allies. Later    [TGT]   called  the Ukrainian president  âa cheap Mafioso.â
The government is fighting back. This year  Ukrainian authorities said   [TGT] incorrectly filled out  [TGT]  citizenship application  and they stripped  [TGT]  of the Ukrainian passport  [TGT]  obtained in 2015  barring  [TGT]  from entering the country. ( [TGT]  was in the United States at the time of the announcement.) The move drew heavy international criticism and rendered  Saakashvili  a stateless former head of state  since Georgia had revoked  [TGT]  passport when  [TGT]  received Ukrainian citizenship.
In September    [TGT] responded by storming through a border crossing into Ukraine with hundreds of  his  supporters.  He  subsequently announced a âunited oppositionâ against Poroshenko and barnstormed the country to garner support and raise  his  profile.
Last week  Ukraineâs prosecutor general  Yuri Lutsenko  a Poroshenko ally  announced that authorities had rejected Saakashviliâs petition for political asylum  opening up his possible deportation to Georgia  where he is wanted on charges of embezzlement and abuse of power while in office.   [TGT] says the case against   [TGT]   in Georgia is a political witch hunt.
Lutsenko also accused   [TGT] of trying to organize âa violent coupâ and obtaining visas for 20 of his Georgian supporters under false pretenses.  Saakashvili   for  his  part  denied the accusations and said authorities had illegally seized and deported a number of  his  followers.
âThe general prosecutor is lying completely!â   [TGT] wrote in a Facebook post  claiming that Ukrainian law allowed  [TGT]  to stay in the country.
For  Saakashvili   deportation would be an ignominious end to what was supposed to be   [TGT]   political resurrection. When   [TGT]   arrived in Ukraine over two years ago as an exile  Poroshenko installed  him  as Odessa governor in hopes that the Georgian could work  his  reformist magic on one of Ukraineâs most corrupt regions.
 [TGT] is my friend from our student years. I remember   [TGT]   as a strong and decisive person  and I have reason to trust   [TGT]   â Poroshenko tweeted at the time.
The trust  however  soon turned into open antipathy.   [TGT] said the Kiev government was impeding   [TGT]   reforms and resigned as governor one year later  lashing out at PoroÂ­shenko and other top officials.   [TGT]   launched   [TGT]   own political movement and started a talk show. On one episode  a female war veteran sang a song called âThe Chocolate Ass.â Few missed the reference: Poroshenko is a billionaire candy tycoon.
But there are political figures  including within the opposition itself  who are uncomfortable with  Saakashvili âs emergence as a Ukrainian rabble-rouser â the demonstration in front of the parliament being a case in point  they say.