PM Kobakhidze: Georgia avoided ‘disaster’ after EU ambassador's preferred outcome failed to materialise

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has claimed that Georgia avoided a political "disaster" because opposition parties failed to win the country's most recent elections, alleging that the outcome preferred by the European Union's ambassador to Georgia did not materialise.

Speaking at a government briefing, Kobakhidze criticised the opposition and questioned its ability to govern, arguing that parties which struggle to cooperate with one another would have been incapable of effectively managing the country.

"I want you to imagine for a moment what situation our country would be in if those political forces had won the election and formed the government," Kobakhidze said.

The prime minister alleged that EU Ambassador to Georgia Paweł Herczyński had favoured an opposition victory and expressed satisfaction that Georgian voters had not supported what he described as that preferred outcome.

"Thank God that this desire was not fulfilled, that the Georgian people did not follow the EU ambassador and that Georgia does not have such a government today," Kobakhidze said.

He further claimed that some foreign diplomats and governments had hoped to see the opposition come to power and suggested this was reflected in the international reaction following the election.

According to Kobakhidze, no foreign ambassadors or governments congratulated Georgia on what he described as the successful conduct of the elections because they were dissatisfied with the result.

The prime minister argued that the opposition would have led the country into a deeper crisis than the period between 2004 and 2012, when the United National Movement was in power.

"These are people who cannot even agree among themselves today. I do not even want to imagine where they would have taken our country," he said.

Kobakhidze described the prospect of such a government as a "disaster" for Georgia and claimed that the election result had prevented that scenario from becoming reality.