"I have no idea about the IRI survey; I haven't even seen it. However, the fact that people who—at various times—carry out Bidzina Ivanishvili’s orders are lashing out at Lelo is simply a sign that our actual positioning in the political landscape appears to be quite strong," Salome Samadashvili, a leader of Lelo – Strong Georgia, stated on PalitraNews, responding to claims circulated by Aleksandre Rakviashvili, a leader of the Free People's Party, alleging that "according to the IRI survey, the ruling party has 36% while the opposition has half that combined, and Lelo doesn't even register in the polls.

She also addressed the reaction of opposition politician Tamar Chergoleishvili, who commented on this information by saying: "Participating in the regime's 'elections' and controlling TV media cost Lelo its visibility."

As Samadashvili noted, she is not interested in what is being said by individuals who directly serve Bidzina Ivanishvili’s interests... ...serve [him].

"I have no idea about this poll; I haven’t seen it, nor do I have any information regarding it. I truly cannot offer any assessment, because I do not know who conducted the poll, when or where it was carried out, or who the authors are.

The fact that people who—at various times—carry out Bidzina’s orders and attempt to undermine the opposition are now lashing out at 'Lelo' signals to me that our actual positioning in the political landscape is evidently quite strong. Therefore, what these people—who directly serve Bidzina’s interests—say is of no interest to me; after all, it would be the same if Bidzina Ivanishvili himself were speaking. It is abundantly clear that all trust has been completely lost in those political parties that have been openly observed carrying out Bidzina Ivanishvili’s orders.

Regarding other matters, she discussed on the program the critical stance taken by the Lelo party concerning Arab investments in Georgia, as well as Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili’s characterization of this position as "xenophobia." Samadashvili also responded to Papuashvili’s statement suggesting that ALDE—the European political group of which the Khazaradze-Jafaridze party is a member—should state its position on Lelo’s "xenophobic statements."

According to her, the real challenge facing Shalva Papuashvili is not how ALDE assesses the situation, but the fact that an increasing number of people in the country see this government as one that does not serve the interests of the Georgian people.

"Papuashvili has truly become a clown. I find it funny—because how could one not? Just wait, Shalva—you will be waiting a long time for ALDE to distance itself from any democratic party, whether it is Lelo or another. The only entity that is truly alienated, in complete isolation, and shunned by everyone in Europe like a leper, is Georgian Dream itself. The delegation that visited Belgium and Luxembourg was a truly pitiful and laughable sight. It was particularly striking that not a single person appeared in either Belgium or Luxembourg to make a statement regarding these meetings. Later, we saw those ridiculous figures—Papuashvili and his subordinates—lining up to make statements themselves. In short, they were in a situation where they were both the dancers and the singers, because not a soul stepped forward to offer a positive assessment," the opposition politician stated.

As for the Parliament Speaker's statement today regarding musician Aleksandre Kordzaia and the European Union, Salome Samadashvili remarks that "Shalva Papuashvili has become a particularly odious figure."

According to her, the statement issued by the European Union on this matter was not sufficiently sharp, and "this should likely serve as a lesson, including for representatives of Western embassies."

“Papuashvili has emerged as a particularly odious figure—and, I would add, a somewhat comical one. It is deeply regrettable that he has once again demonstrated his utter ignorance and his readiness to spout all manner of nonsense in order to serve Russian interests—such as making absurd statements that are completely at odds with the principles of freedom of expression. All these pronouncements regarding the work of the musician Kordzaia are, in themselves, sheer nonsense—total absurdity. I believe the statement issued by the European Union on this matter was not sufficiently forceful; were I in the EU's position, I would have issued a much stronger statement regarding this shameful Russian hand”, she said.