Levan Tsutsqiridze, one of the leaders of Freedom Square, stated that involving the State Security Service (SSS) to lower prices is absurd and represents yet another “masquerade” by the authorities.

Tsutsqiridze made these comments regarding the meeting between Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and representatives of retail chain markets.

Speaking on Palitra News’ program 360 Degrees, Tsutsqiridze said that if Georgian Dream genuinely wanted to reduce prices in the country, Georgia would not have been isolated and efforts would have been made toward EU membership.

“It’s amazing that they plan to reduce prices through the SSS. This process has reached absurdity; it started off absurdly. If Georgian Dream really wanted low prices in the country, they should not have isolated the country but should have pursued EU membership. Then we would have had low prices, good healthcare, low bank interest rates, and so on. What Georgian Dream is doing now is a masquerade.

Unfortunately, during the rule of Georgian Dream, Georgia has become even more dependent on the Russian market, not the opposite. Prices are not controlled by the SSS. In the room where economic development is discussed, having the security service involved does not make business healthier. Minidradze [presumably a government official] should regulate prices, or whoever is responsible. Economics does not happen in the hands of the SSS; on the contrary, the economy dies. The SSS has a completely different role, not price control,” Tsutsqiridze said.

Tsutsqiridze added that the ruling party had 12 years to improve the social situation of citizens, but only now realizes that life is difficult for people. According to him, Georgian Dream has been “blown up by its own corrupt practices” and is now forced into internal conflicts and purges.

“The very logical question is, where was this party until now? They had 12 years to do something, and now they remembered that life is hard for people. This is part of a campaign because Georgian Dream has exploded on its own planted mine - corruption. This is a party created for corruption by corrupt politicians. Their only goal is to rob the people. Now they realized they are in a tight spot because they have to attack each other. They decided to call in the SSS and start talking about regulating prices,” Tsutsqiridze said.

According to Tsutsqiridze, the country’s main problem is the corrupt government, and price-related initiatives are merely for show.

“The real problem is that a corrupt party is in power, so all of this is a show. I do not rule out that businesses might be instructed to temporarily lower prices, still at their own expense,” Tsutsqiridze said.