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Opinion
June 28, 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 18
COLCHIS:
Tbilisi’s protests and the Georgian Dream Political paradox
Lincoln Mitchell for the Eurasia Democratic Security Network
The protests and political drama that have en- gulfed Tbilisi over the last week or so have highlighted all of the flaws of Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party (GD). While the image of
a pro-Kremlin Russian parliamentarian hold-
ing court in Georgia’s legislature was to many Georgians a troubling symbol, that event, and the political outrage it evoked, is less emblematic of Russian sway as much as a reminder of Georgia’s fraught and paradoxical political balancing act.
The decision to invite Russian politician Sergey Garilov to address the Georgian parliament was more likely an honest, if stupid, mistake than an effort to somehow cosy up to Russia, but it was
a grave and avoidable misstep. The unnecessar- ily violent reaction to the demonstrations in front of parliament showed how GD feels increasingly embattled and, despite consistently winning elec- tions, increasingly disconnected from the Georgian population. The unclear and confusing response by the GD government to the demonstrators and their demands showed a government that is more inept than venal. Even the announcement by Bidzina Ivanishvili – the billionaire GD founder, onetime prime minister, and current party chairman – that the 2020 elections will be entirely proportional, a key demand of the demonstrators, was evidence
of both a lingering commitment to democracy, but also a reminder that Ivanishvili remains the prime mover in the GD universe.
While the most proximate cause of the demon- strations that are still occurring in Tbilisi was
A visit to Tbilisi by pro-Kremlin Russian parliamentarian Sergey Garilov brought thou- sands of protestors to the streets.
Garilov’s presence in the Georgian parliament, the Georgian people, who came to the streets, were also motivated by a more general discontentment with their government.
The GD has now been in power for six and a half years – a long time in Georgian politics. The previous administration, Mikheil Saakashvili’s United National Movement (UNM), was in power for slightly longer. Thus, for many Georgians,
the Georgian Dream’s signature achievement, of bringing down the unpopular UNM, has receded into the past. Like all citizens of countries that have at least some democracy, the Georgian peo- ple have begun to ask the ruling party: “What have you done for me lately?” and what they have heard back has been distinctly underwhelming.
The key to understanding events in Georgia is to recognise that these demonstrators have come to the streets not just because they don’t feel elec- tions have allowed them to effectively express their discontent with the GD government, but also to understand why that is the case. To do that, it is essential to understand the role that the UNM, as the largest opposition party, has played in Geor- gian politics since leaving power in 2012.
As the de facto leaders of the opposition, the UNM, and related parties such as European Geor- gia led by former UNM stalwarts like Giga Bokeria and David Bakradze, have crafted a critique of the GD that is half hard-hitting, but nonetheless rea- sonable. This critique includes the argument that