Laura Thornton, Director of Global Democracy Programs at the McCain Institute, told Interpressnews that she will share at the Helsinki Commission that Georgian Dream’s closest current allies are Russia, Iran, and China. She noted that the very idea of a “democratic Georgian Dream government” had a fatal flaw from the start, as its leader and financier is the Russian-aligned oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, who has no loyalty to liberal democracy or the West.

“The core message I will share at the Helsinki Commission is that from the very beginning, the idea of a democratic government led by ‘Georgian Dream’ had a fatal flaw. Its leader and financier is the Russian oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, who has no loyalty to liberal democracy or the West. Even though Georgian Dream started as a broad coalition including genuinely pro-democracy, pro-Western parties and figures, this did not last long. The concept of liberal democracy assumes that one day the ruling party will be defeated in elections, and this is unacceptable to Ivanishvili and his followers.”

Thornton highlighted early signs of democratic backsliding in Georgia, some evident even ten years ago:

• Non-liberal policies and zero transparency;

• Surveillance by security services;

• Failed judicial reform;

• Attacks on civil society;

• “Gavrilov Night” incident;

• Passage of the “Foreign Agents Law”;

• Disinformation campaigns, mass intimidation;

• Flawed elections;

• Backtracking from EU integration;

• Supporting Russia after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, avoiding sanctions;

She added that the panel will address attempts by Georgian Dream to suppress opposition, the situation of political prisoners, and violence against protesters.

“Georgian Dream has acknowledged that civil society and independent media are the last bastions of democracy, and now they need their disappearance. Silencing the last bastions and closing off any space for dissent is often the final nail in the coffin of an authoritarian regime. All these laws aim to do exactly that, including stripping away the freedoms of speech and assembly that the Georgian people fought for long ago.”

Thornton stressed that her voice is one among many speaking out against authoritarianism in Georgia:

“When you cannot defend yourself based on reason, facts, and logic, you attack the messenger and their reputation. My views are no different from those of other experts observing Georgia or working in democracy and human rights. I am just one voice among many saying that Georgia has fallen into authoritarianism under pro-Russian Georgian Dream. If I were not the speaker, someone else would take my place and say exactly the same things. Georgian Dream is trying to discredit the fully democratic world by insulting EU and U.S. diplomats, discrediting everyone from the European Commission to the OSCE, U.S. Congress members, and European parliamentarians, and calling the West a ‘party to the global war.’ No insult in the world can change the facts or distract from the truth.”