PM Kobakhidze slams ‘radical opposition’ for ‘undermining state institutions’, ‘misleading public’

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has accused the country’s “radical opposition” of systematically attempting to undermine trust in state institutions, calling it a “key element” of their political strategy allegedly driven by foreign interests.

Speaking to journalists on Saturday, Kobakhidze said “one of the main hallmarks of the radical opposition is their persistent attempt to discredit state institutions. This includes orchestrated campaigns targeting law enforcement bodies and the Central Election Commission (CEC). These are foreign-directed efforts.”

He cited recent polling data as “evidence that such campaigns have been ineffective”.

“Sociological research shows that every state institution has a public approval rating above 50%. In the case of the CEC, trust exceeds 60%. This proves the opposition’s disinformation campaigns have failed.”

The Prime Minister also described the opposition as “weakened and discredited,” noting what he called their repeated failures since 2016 to realise any of their stated political goals.

“Since 2016, these groups have talked about peaceful or even non-peaceful revolutions - ideas that contradict themselves. These so-called plans are nothing more than empty gestures after defeat. They’ve never succeeded, and today they’re even weaker than before,” he added.

Kobakhidze also addressed the dispute over the Anaklia deep-sea port project, targeting the consortium formerly led by businessmen and current opposition leaders Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze. He claimed the group had failed to secure a “single investor” and later attempted to “unjustly claim compensation from the state.”

“Despite full state support and even constitutional guarantees to realise the Anaklia project, the Khazaradze-Japaridze consortium failed to attract any investors. Then they had the audacity to try to take public funds from the state budget,” he said. “The arbitration court has since issued a legal ruling that proves the state acted with integrity throughout the process.”