Opposition should not expect gains from Hungary developments, ruling party senior MP

Nikoloz Samkharadze, Chairman of the Parliament’s Foreign Relations Committee, on Wednesday said the Georgian opposition has no reason to view political developments in Hungary as beneficial to them, arguing that the Hungarian opposition’s strategy was fundamentally different.

Speaking to journalists, Samkharadze commented on Hungarian election winner Peter Magyar, saying his campaign methods and political tactics differed significantly from those used by Georgian opposition parties.

“I think there is nothing to be happy about for the opposition, considering that Peter Magyar used a completely different tactic, and the Georgian opposition is different,” Samkharadze said.

He said Magyar carried out an intensive grassroots campaign, travelling across rural areas during the election period, and claimed that his messaging was not significantly different from that of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Samkharadze went on to accuse Georgian opposition parties of losing contact with their electorate and failing to contribute to the country’s security environment.

Instead, he said, the opposition was undermining national security rather than strengthening it.

He further claimed that the Georgian opposition and Magyar’s political movement operated with entirely different tactics and strategies, dismissing any suggestion that developments in Hungary could translate into political gains for opposition forces in Georgia.