- President Mikheil Saakashvili filmed driving to Tbilisi airport in modest car
- Accompanied by wife as 'security' ahead of an official visit to Azerbaijan
- His 'opulent lifestyle' saw him build a palace in Tbilisi and purchase two jets
He may be more used to being whisked across town in an armoured limousine - flanked by jeeps laden with security.
But Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has proven he is just like the rest of us - by taking a lift to Tbilisi airport in a modest urban hatchback, with just his wife as his protection.
Mr Saakashvili drove the car - his own personal vehicle - to the airport ahead of an official visit to neighbouring Azerbaijan, to prove a political point amid criticism over his opulent lifestyle.
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has been filmed driving himself to the airport ahead of a state visit with only his Dutch-born wife, Sandra Roelofs, for security
The Georgian President’s PR team filmed Mr Saakashvili and his wife climbing into the car in the palace garage and followed them as they drive unaccompanied out on to the streets of Tbilisi before heading for the airport.
The video then shows him slowing down as he gets stuck in traffic and waiting patiently at a red light.
The press team have since shared the video on YouTube.
Previously, Mr Saakashvili - who has in the past come under fire for his extravagant lifestyle - travelled in an armoured Mercedes limousine accompanied by Jeeps filled with armed security.
It is believed Mr Saakashvili drove the car - his own personal vehicle - to the airport ahead of an official visit to neighbouring Azerbaijan, to prove a political point
He is filmed taking the tiny blue electric car from the palace garage, and then driving himself and the First Lady to the Tbilisi airport for an official trip to Baku
He is more used to being whisked across town in an armoured limousine - flanked by jeeps laden with security. But he claims to now only travel 'with his wife to protect him'
Mr Saakashvili’s United National Movement lost parliamentary elections last autumn to a coalition led by Bidzina Ivanishvili, now Prime Minister.
Georgia has been in political limbo since, and although Mr Saakashvili remains President until October, the opposition have called for him to step down and relinquish power, the Independent reports.
He was stopped recently from giving an address in parliament.
Later, violence erupted outside the National Library where he tried to give the speech again.
It is believed the president was using the video to deflect criticism of his opulent lifestyle which saw him build a palace in Tbilisi and purchase two jets for official use, one of which has already been taken away from him.
The video then shows him slowing down as he gets stuck in traffic and waiting patiently at a red light. The press team have since shared the video on YouTube
It is believed the president was using the video to deflect criticism of his opulent lifestyle which saw him build a palace in Tbilisi and purchase two jets for official use, one of which has already been taken away from him
Previously, Mr Saakashvili - who has in the past come under fire for his extravagant lifestyle - travelled in an armoured Mercedes limousine accompanied by Jeeps filled with armed security
The new government has accused him of unacceptable extravagance
Mr Saakashvili was the subject of an assassination attempt in 2005.
He now claims that he travels completely without security. He said that if anything happened, 'his wife is there to protect him'.
VIDEO MP from president's party fights with political opponent on TV
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2286944/Mikheil-Saakashvili-President-drives-airport-electric-car-wife-guard-bid-dispel-anger-opulence.html
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