Mamuka Mdinaradze, the Executive Secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream party and leader of the parliamentary majority, has accused the opposition party United National Movement (UNM) of spearheading a negative campaign aimed at discrediting his party. Speaking on the matter, Mdinaradze criticized UNM’s campaign strategy, particularly highlighting their use of a symbolic arrow in their banners that pointed towards the past.
“There is this legend about the United National Movement being masters of PR, but their first attempt at a smear campaign backfired. At first, they directed their arrow (on a banner), symbolizing their party, towards the past—while our arrow pointed to the future. This was a reflection of their subconscious mindset. However, later they reversed the arrows, ” Mdinaradze stated.
He pointed out that while Georgian Dream has refrained from producing any negative campaign materials, UNM has resorted to such tactics, and he urged observers to take note.
“We haven’t created a single negative banner. They started the smear campaign against the Georgian Dream. Lies have always been, and will continue to be, the core of their campaign,” he added.
Mdinaradze also called on both objective and non-objective observers to document the timing and nature of UNM’s negative campaign tactics in their reports.
“I urge every observer to record exactly when and how the UNM initiated this negative campaign. When the reports are published, no one should forget to include how and when this started,” Mdinaradze stressed.
On Monday, the UNM unveiled its campaign banner featuring two arrows. The first arrow, aimed at the future, displays UNM’s election number 5 with the slogan “Prosperity in Europe.” The second arrow, pointing towards the past, highlights the ruling Georgian Dream’s number 41, accompanied by the slogan “Poverty in Isolation.”
UNM leader Giorgi Vashadze announced that the party will soon reveal a detailed five-point plan designed to revitalize the country. Vashadze emphasized that this plan will focus on key issues, including reuniting families, encouraging emigrants to return to Georgia, creating jobs, and increasing pensions.
