Opposition leader, ex-PM Gakharia: neither ruling party nor opposition represents true national or European values

Giorgi Gakharia, former Prime Minister and leader of the For Georgia party, on Tuesday criticised both the ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition, warning that neither side truly represented national or European values, and calling for an end to the growing political polarisation in Georgia.

Speaking in a Tbilisi hotel to mark the fourth anniversary of his party’s founding, Gakharia accused the Georgian Dream government of isolating Georgia internationally and resorting to violence against demonstrators protesting halted EU integration.

“One part of Georgian politicians assures us that they are the only nationalists… The other part assures us that they are Europeans and that no one else can be,” Gakharia said. “We should all understand that neither one is truly national nor the other is truly European.”

He deliberately refrained from naming specific parties or leaders, saying “today I will try not to name political parties or leaders”. 

Gakharia criticised the government for using force against citizens during protests, claiming the ruling party was “forced” to resort to violence despite initially promising dignity and justice.

“This is a government that gained support by promising dignity and justice and then was forced – I’m not saying it wanted it or enjoyed it, but it was forced – to use force against Georgian citizens physically,” he said. He also alleged the creation of political prisoners on a scale “the country has never seen before.”

He further accused the government of pursuing policies that isolate Georgia on the international stage. “At this time, our government is doing everything to isolate the country instead of increasing the number of friends of the country and leaving us alone in the face of growing challenges.”

While critical of Georgian Dream, Gakharia admitted opposition parties had failed to communicate effectively with voters, allowing the ruling party to retain support.

“This is partly our fault,” he said. “We have not been able to explain to these people well that this is no longer a force that fights for dignity, for justice. It exists only at the expense of injustice, violence and corruption.”

He called on all political forces to reject radical polarisation and to embrace respectful dialogue: “If someone disagrees with us, it does not mean that they do not love their homeland… it means that they have a different opinion and we must be able to talk to them.”

Gakharia’s speech follows his controversial appearance before a parliamentary investigative commission probing alleged crimes under the United National Movement government between 2003-2012 in April, which drew criticism from other opposition parties. They accused him of breaking a pact within the so-called “opposition platform,” coordinated under fifth President Salome Zourabichvili’s initiative, which called for a boycott of the commission, deemed illegitimate by the opposition.