His personal protest has been adopted by opposition leaders, whose activists have taken to camping in tents and "cells" outside Saakashvili's office and the public broadcaster.

Gachechiladze left for one hour Tuesday to address several thousand supporters in Tbilisi rallying for a second week to demand Saakashvili quit over his record on democracy and last year's disastrous war with Russia.

"I'm sure this nightmare Georgians are experiencing will end soon, and a new, great era will begin for our country," Gachechiladze -- known to his fans as "Unknown" -- told the crowd in front of the parliament.

"This is the decisive battle," he said.

Gachechiladze, whose brother Levan challenged Saakashvili for the presidency in 2008, has become the talk of Tbilisi's cafes and bars since his show went live on Maestro on January 20, cameras catching his every political declaration.

The opposition launched street protests on April 9, when some 60,000 turned out. But numbers are dwindling and analysts say the government is biding its time before some of the more moderate opposition leaders agree to talks.

Opponents accuse Saakashvili of monopolizing power and stifling the judiciary and media since coming to power on the back of the 2003 "Rose Revolution" in the former Soviet republic.

Last year's war, when Russia crushed a Georgian assault on the breakaway pro-Moscow region of South Ossetia, has emboldened critics who say Saakashvili cannot be allowed to stay in power until 2013.

But analysts say his position appears to be strong, and doubt whether the opposition can muster enough people or stamina to oust him.

(Reporting by Margarita Antidze, Writing by Matt Robinson; Editing by Matthew Jones) 

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/newsMaps/idUSTRE53K39G20090421