Georgia's new president, Mikhail Saakashvili, wants to make the fight against corruption the centerpiece of his administration. He faces an awesome task.

During the administration of Eduard Shevardnadze, Georgia was run by a deeply entrenched bureaucratic network with ties to organized crime. Corruption became a way of life, causing widespread cynicism, eroding public confidence in government, and undermining the country's economic prospects. If Mr. Saakashvili is going to succeed, Georgians must play an active role as proponents of reform and guardians of accountability.

Over the years, Georgians grew resigned to their country's status as a borderline failed state. Citizens lost trust in state institutions with the erratic supply of essential services - such as electricity and water - further undermining confidence. A quarter million refugees became a living reminder of the government's inability to address unresolved separatist conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Under President Eduard Shevardnadze, Georgians became powerless to hold corrupt politicians accountable. While cronies prospered from bribery and kickbacks, more than half the population slipped below the poverty line and almost a quarter lost their jobs. Instead of resisting corruption, many Georgians survived by becoming stakeholders in the country's "shadow economy," which constitutes up to 80 percent of overall output. Smuggling and trafficking in drugs, guns, fuel, prostitutes, and children were widespread. But Georgians are fed up with the shadow economy's corrosive effect and many are prepared to make sacrifices in exchange for a fresh start.

Indeed, instead of the passive response Mr. Shevardnadze expected when he rigged parliamentary elections last November, tens of thousands took to the streets, insisting on new elections. When Shevardnadze resisted, Georgians demanded his resignation and ultimately a peaceful transfer of power ensued - the so-called "Rose Revolution."

Georgians were jubilant as Saakashvili was sworn in as president. To satisfy sky-high expectations, he must use his broad popular mandate to dismantle Georgia's corrupt power structure.

Saakashvili has already sent a clear message to deeply entrenched mafia networks and to the general population that he is serious about fighting corruption. Within days of his election, Georgian Special Forces landed in a helicopter outside a hospital in Batumi on the Black Sea; they stormed the building and arrested the former chief of Georgian Railways, who is charged with tax evasion. He has been joined in detention by other high-profile violators, the former energy minister and the chairman of the Georgian Football Association.

Page: 1 | 2