AZE.US
Former Azerbaijani parliament speaker Rasul Guliyev has issued a sharp attack on Ramiz Mehdiyev, the former head of the presidential administration, describing him as a coward and a political opportunist.
Guliyev said Mehdiyev had always been driven by fear and a desire to preserve his position inside the power system.
“Ramiz Mehdiyev is a very, very cowardly man. I have rarely met people of that type in my life,” Guliyev said.
According to Guliyev, Mehdiyev showed those traits as far back as the Soviet period, adapting himself to shifting political circumstances in order to remain in office. He pointed to the period of Abdurrahman Vezirov, saying Mehdiyev behaved in an openly submissive way to protect his place in the system.
Guliyev also questioned Mehdiyev’s political legacy. He said that despite holding senior posts for many years, the former presidential administration chief was unlikely to be remembered as a figure who left a lasting mark.
In Guliyev’s view, history remembers people who made consequential decisions, not those who merely occupied offices and exercised influence from behind the scenes. Mehdiyev, he suggested, does not belong to the first category.
“A year, two years or ten years after his death, no one will remember a person named Ramiz Mehdiyev,” Guliyev said.
The former speaker also suggested that Mehdiyev may now be struggling with the pressure surrounding him. He said the fact that state bodies have not disclosed all details of possible claims against him does not mean the matter is over.
Guliyev added that, given Mehdiyev’s age, the authorities may see little need to pursue a long punishment. Still, he said the political and public pressure itself could be a severe blow for a man in his 80s.
“He is already over 80. Perhaps he is now thinking it would have been better to die earlier,” Guliyev said.
He added that Mehdiyev had made serious mistakes and was now facing consequences that may be especially difficult at his age. For Guliyev, the story is not only about one political figure, but about the final stage of a career spent for decades close to power without becoming an independent historical figure.
AZE.US