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Abandon Ship! - Is the National Movement No Longer United?

Abandon Ship! - Is the National Movement No Longer United?
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“Those who have left the party are simply rats fleeing the ship. I warn the parliamentary majority, the government and personally Bidzina Ivanishvili, that the rats that were aboard the National Movement have turned tail on the very first day, but will eventually come crawling back, just like rats do!” Goga Khachidze, former Environment Minister and author of a song “Misha Magaria” (Misha is Awesome), dedicated to Georgia’s ex-President, declared in one of his speeches. However, this strongly worded statement apparently did not stop him from leaving the party together with three of his colleagues – Giorgi Meladze, Zurab Japaridze and Pavle Kublashvili – a few months after making it.

Zurab Japaridze, one of the former members of the National Movement, considered the party to be the only power capable of saving the country. The leader of the parliamentary minority was confident that it could regain the people’s trust and win the 2016 elections in coalition with another, “proper” political force. Today, however, the former executive secretary of the country’s largest opposition party speaks about reforms the party failed to implement:

“In order to be victorious, a political movement needs to be fully renewed and made more transparent. This is the only way to regain public confidence. Owning up to one’s failures and reforming political movements is an established practice in well-developed democratic countries. The National Movement has failed this test, thus disappointing many of the country’s citizens,” says Japaridze in an excerpt from his official statement explaining his and his three colleagues’ departure from the party.

After the parliamentary elections that took place on October 1st, it quickly became clear that it would be very hard for the National Movement to win back the people’s trust if they kept the old roster. Even the rally on Rustaveli Avenue didn’t seem to help. Yet the party has managed to maintain its integrity – at least outwardly – nevertheless. What was the reason for the internal schism in the National Movement a year and a half before the elections? Was it some kind of internal pressure, Bidzina Ivanishvili’s money, fear of political mortality in the party’s members or something else? Georgian society and media alike are awash with speculation.

Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili quickly made a rather sardonic comment on the events that transpired, announcing that the National Movement is about to split into three groups. Some experts share his position, predicting that the outflow of politicians from the party will continue in the future. It is noteworthy that other opposition parties also did not leave the departure of the four UNM members without attention. Zurab Abashidze, one of the leaders of Free Democrats party, commented on the event, saying that he does not rule out cooperation with the four MPs. There is a big chance that we are going to see the emergence of a new political coalition, which, together with the Free Democrats and the “Iveria” society, will represent pro-Western values at the 2016 elections. We remind our readers that “Iveria” was founded by former high-ranking officials who threw their lot in with the National Movement but were never actual members of the party.

Long story short, time remains the main factor in Georgian politics. There is no doubt that we will be witnesses to many unexpected political events in the coming months.

Author: Rusudan Shelia

Abandon Ship! - Is the National Movement No Longer United?

“Those who have left the party are simply rats fleeing the ship. I warn the parliamentary majority, the government and personally Bidzina Ivanishvili, that the rats that were aboard the National Movement have turned tail on the very first day, but will eventually come crawling back, just like rats do!” Goga Khachidze, former Environment Minister and author of a song “Misha Magaria” (Misha is Awesome), dedicated to Georgia’s ex-President, declared in one of his speeches. However, this strongly worded statement apparently did not stop him from leaving the party together with three of his colleagues – Giorgi Meladze, Zurab Japaridze and Pavle Kublashvili – a few months after making it.

Zurab Japaridze, one of the former members of the National Movement, considered the party to be the only power capable of saving the country. The leader of the parliamentary minority was confident that it could regain the people’s trust and win the 2016 elections in coalition with another, “proper” political force. Today, however, the former executive secretary of the country’s largest opposition party speaks about reforms the party failed to implement:

“In order to be victorious, a political movement needs to be fully renewed and made more transparent. This is the only way to regain public confidence. Owning up to one’s failures and reforming political movements is an established practice in well-developed democratic countries. The National Movement has failed this test, thus disappointing many of the country’s citizens,” says Japaridze in an excerpt from his official statement explaining his and his three colleagues’ departure from the party.

After the parliamentary elections that took place on October 1st, it quickly became clear that it would be very hard for the National Movement to win back the people’s trust if they kept the old roster. Even the rally on Rustaveli Avenue didn’t seem to help. Yet the party has managed to maintain its integrity – at least outwardly – nevertheless. What was the reason for the internal schism in the National Movement a year and a half before the elections? Was it some kind of internal pressure, Bidzina Ivanishvili’s money, fear of political mortality in the party’s members or something else? Georgian society and media alike are awash with speculation.

Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili quickly made a rather sardonic comment on the events that transpired, announcing that the National Movement is about to split into three groups. Some experts share his position, predicting that the outflow of politicians from the party will continue in the future. It is noteworthy that other opposition parties also did not leave the departure of the four UNM members without attention. Zurab Abashidze, one of the leaders of Free Democrats party, commented on the event, saying that he does not rule out cooperation with the four MPs. There is a big chance that we are going to see the emergence of a new political coalition, which, together with the Free Democrats and the “Iveria” society, will represent pro-Western values at the 2016 elections. We remind our readers that “Iveria” was founded by former high-ranking officials who threw their lot in with the National Movement but were never actual members of the party.

Long story short, time remains the main factor in Georgian politics. There is no doubt that we will be witnesses to many unexpected political events in the coming months.

Author: Rusudan Shelia

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