Economists and others in Georgia have spoken up against the plan, claiming it is will make Georgia less attractive to investors and further weaken the rights of property owners in Georgia. They also maintain that the proposal is anti-democratic since if passed it would provide the government with a chance to seize private property. Those opposed to the plan also point out that while Georgian courts are still plagued by government interference and corruption, there would be no clear forum for property owners to defend their claims.

However draconian the proposal appears to be, it seems to carry support within Georgian society and its popularity has been attributed to the widespread unemployment in the country. Unemployment has plagued Georgia since it reclaimed its independence in 1991. As a republic within the former Soviet Union, it boasted two major industrial centers but the majority of factories and manufacturing plants have closed and most of those that are still open are not operating at full productivity. According to official statistics, the unemployment rate in Georgia is somewhere between 6-17%. However, non-government reports and statistics put the number above 20%.

While the new government has promised to address the issue of unemployment, so far the reforms are having the opposite effect. Several hundred people were laid off over the summer when the government began restructuring Tbilisi State University. Earlier this year, the government also laid off dozens of bureaucrats in an effort to reduce the size of the government itself and combat corruption. Measures taken against street traders and black market cigarette and alcohol sales have also cut into the livelihood of a large segment of the population. Details of the government initiative are still sketchy but it is believed that those enterprises that are reclaimed will then be sold as part of the privatization effort.

While Saakashvili has heralded privatization as a way to reinvigorate the job market, it is not clear how long it will take before people can return to work or how many of the former employees will actually be rehired once state owned enterprises are sold and begin to operate again. According to the Georgian Ministry of Economic Development, the Georgian state owns roughly 1,800 enterprises which employ over 180,000 people. In one case, the sale of the Ocean Shipping Company in Batumi, the new owners, Georgian Tankers Ltd, are reportedly required to employ its current employees for the next several years.

If this new initiative becomes law, it could prove to help Saakashvili create more jobs as well bring more money into the central budget. If the Georgian government succeeds in selling its current property, and creating jobs via those sales, it will be easier to justify seizing private property. However the government risks further alienating Georgian society if proper measures are not taken to ensure the population that respectable businessmen have nothing to fear and that the government will utilize the seized property to boost the struggling job market. The overriding issue at stake is employing the thousands of Georgians who are currently out of work. If Saakashvili can lower the unemployment rate in Georgia, he will have a carte blanche from society to proceed with his reforms, however painful they may be.