Rob Young

Let me take you back to 1648.

Picture this, a water company in the famously wet Netherlands needs cash to build a levee.

It doesn't raise taxes, it borrows money by issuing bonds.

And the IOU isn't written on paper, but on vellum, goat skin.

Almost four centuries on, one of those original bonds survives and it's still collecting interest.

The bondholder is Yale University in the United States.

Geert Roenhorst, a Dutch professor of finance at Yale, showed me his prized possession over a video link.

It's history you can hold in your hands and proof that bonds aren't just about money.

They contain stories that stretch across centuries.

The outgoing president, Zoros Bishvili, says that the new president is illegitimate because the parliament which has chosen him is illegitimate because the election was rigged.

The outgoing president, Zoros Bishvili, says that the new president is illegitimate because the parliament which has chosen him is illegitimate because the election was rigged.

She was legitimately elected as president, though.

She was legitimately elected as president, though.

Well, there were videos just after the election which appeared to show ballot stuffing taking place and also people reported intimidation at polling stations. But it does appear the country is heading towards, if it is not already in, a constitutional crisis with an outgoing president saying their successor is...

Well, there were videos just after the election which appeared to show ballot stuffing taking place and also people reported intimidation at polling stations. But it does appear the country is heading towards, if it is not already in, a constitutional crisis with an outgoing president saying their successor is...

is illegitimate and saying they want to remain in post and an awful lot of people clearly opposing the government saying that your party stole the election. And then a majority of people, according to opinion polling, wanting Georgia to join the European Union, yet your party is saying that talks on that have been postponed for a number of years.

is illegitimate and saying they want to remain in post and an awful lot of people clearly opposing the government saying that your party stole the election. And then a majority of people, according to opinion polling, wanting Georgia to join the European Union, yet your party is saying that talks on that have been postponed for a number of years.

Georgia is in a real mess at the moment and your party is in government. So what are you going to do about it? What are you going to do to try to bring Georgians together?

Georgia is in a real mess at the moment and your party is in government. So what are you going to do about it? What are you going to do to try to bring Georgians together?

You're saying that everything is the fault of somebody else, not your party, yet your party is claiming to be in government. Why are your police tear gassing people who are peacefully protesting outside the parliament?