Following large-scale protests that lasted several days in Georgia, authorities in the country withdrew two bills on media and NGO regulation. Nevertheless, the rhetoric of the representatives of the Georgian leaders does not change. The ruling Georgian Dream party insists the foreign agent bills would only provide “transparency” regarding the funding of non-governmental organizations and the media. The ruling party claims that in reality the young people and other “sincere” citizens who took part in the demonstrations were misled by “radical forces” who in reality wanted to sow “chaos” in the country, to change government, involve Georgia. in a war with Russia and open a “second front” in the country.
Moreover, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili believes that Kiev is interested in starting a war on the territory of Georgia, as well as European parliamentarians, who often criticize Georgian leaders on various issues.
At the same time, Garibashvili said the authorities’ decision to withdraw the controversial bills was “the most correct and reasonable decision for the state”.
“Thus, on the one hand, we have certainly shown that we will not allow anyone to destabilize something, to sow disorder and chaos in the country, and then to unleash ‘second fronts’ and a thousand abominations,” said the Prime Minister.
The Ukrainian authorities immediately reacted to the accusations of the Georgian Prime Minister and once again refuted them, declaring that the Georgian leaders, including Irakli Garibashvili, “were taking up almost word for word the theses of Russian propaganda”.
It should be noted that earlier, on February 9, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili also said that the statements of the Georgian dream were in line with Russian propaganda.
The US State Department, as well as the US Embassy in Georgia, have repeatedly refuted accusations by Georgian authorities of alleged US interest in “opening a second front” in Georgia. Meanwhile, US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan noted earlier that there has recently been a campaign in Georgia that “attempts to undermine the strong partnership between Georgia and the West.”
Georgian Dream denies its anti-Western orientation. On March 17, the secretary general of the ruling party, the mayor of Tbilisi, Kakha Kaladze, declared that European integration is a “very important” objective for Georgia, but at the same time, as noted by Kaladze, “it is important for us to preserve our dignity.”
“Being a slave to anyone is not good, whether it’s Russians, Europeans or Americans,” the mayor of Tbilisi said on March 17.
Political scientist Gia Khukhashvili believes that both the anti-Western rhetoric of the Georgian Dream and accusations of Kiev and the West’s desire to open a “second front” in the country are part of the ruling elite’s attempt to “to synchronize Georgian reality with Russian. In other words, according to the expert, the main value proclaimed by the Georgian Dream is stability, and the threat to this stability, according to government propaganda, comes from the West.
Similar messages are heard in Russia, the expert notes: for example, NATO and the Western world are fighting against Russian orthodoxy, traditions, values, etc.
“Whether the rapprochement with Russia is a conscious choice of the Georgian dream or whether it is the result of certain circumstances, it does not matter. The result is important, and it is this: the political machine works to synchronize Georgia with Russia, Russian soft power has taken deep root in our country, it is a growing economic dependence on the Russian Federation, population expansion, etc. The Georgian authorities verbally aspire to join the EU, but in reality, the merger of almost all spheres with those of Russia is in full swing,” Khukhashvili believes.
As part of the “synchronization” with Russia, Khukhashvili also considers the intentions of the Georgian Dream to introduce a law on foreign agents, similar to Russian law, after the entry into force of which NGOs and independent media were forced to stop working in the Russian Federation. The fact that it did not work out in Georgia due to the outbreak of a large-scale protest, the expert considers it a “tactical retreat” of the ruling force. Khukhashvili is convinced that the vector of the Georgian dream remains the same, ie. anti-Western, and that, most likely, the ruling party, as he believes, “is preparing for revenge.”
All this is happening in a context of “weak opposition”, which, according to Khukhashvili, is distant from the population and its needs, and therefore offers “exceptionally favorable conditions” for the Georgian dream, which has more resources and, above all, all, administrative.
“Georgian Dream is not voted for because it is respected or believed, it is simply a choice between the bad ones and the even worse ones. The ruling party has administrative resources, which enables it to obtain points in the eyes of the electorate. It is still difficult to say what will happen in the run-up to the next election in 2024. But what can be said with certainty is that few people in Georgia make themselves illusions about the Georgian dream,” summed up the expert.
Recall that according to the results of another study conducted in Georgia from December 3 to 20 by the American non-governmental organization National Democratic Institute (NDI), of all the political forces in Georgia, the ruling party had the most supporters.
In particular, despite the fact that 39% of survey participants said they had nothing in common with either party, 25% of those polled by NDI said they considered the party to power Georgian Dream as being closest in their opinions, 6% – the party of former President Mikheil Saakashvili UNM, and 13% named other parties.
