PM’s call on prices signals expansion of repression into business, opposition figure Gotsiridze

Opposition politician Roman Gotsiridze has criticised Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s appeal to law enforcement agencies to investigate rising supermarket prices, calling it an expansion of political repression into the business sector.

Speaking in response to the prime minister’s recent remarks, Gotsiridze said the move resembled a revival of the Soviet-era system, a police body once responsible for overseeing economic activity. He argued that blaming retailers for high prices ignored deeper structural problems in government policy.

According to Gotsiridze, the main drivers of price increases are what he described as the government’s flawed monetary, credit and budgetary policies, as well as widespread elite corruption. He said the authorities’ focus on retail chains risked paving the way for direct state control over business.

“The government of Georgian Dream is launching repression against retail networks under the pretext of high prices,” Gotsiridze said. “The prime minister’s call for law enforcement to intervene in supermarkets is the expansion of repression into the business sphere and the resurrection of a Soviet-style system. The next step will be full state control over business, as seen in Belarus and similar countries.”

He added that the idea of a free market economy could soon be replaced by what he described as “state capitalism”, warning that such a shift would further undermine economic freedoms.

The criticism follows statements by Prime Minister Kobakhidze, who said food prices in Georgian supermarkets significantly exceed those in Europe. He pointed to high mark-ups by distributors and retail chains and called on law enforcement agencies to conduct an in-depth review to determine whether criminal violations may be involved..