Our public has not reached the breaking point just yet; and they are not likely to turn their back on the Georgian Dream – Vakhtang Dzabiradze

InterPressNews sat down with political expert and constitutionalist Vakhtang Dzabiradze to discuss Georgia’s acute foreign and domestic issues on the eve of elections.

-- On the threshold of the local elections, our authorities claim that today’s election environment is more settled and well-organized than that of the past. The opposition has issued certain accusations against the Government, while the investigative bodies have raised the issue of some corrupt schemes, which they have, allegedly, set up to finance the Nationals. As for you, how would you assess today’s’ election environment of Georgia?

- Nowadays, the pre-election environment in Georgia is really much more free and transparent than it was in the bygone days. If under Saakashvili and Shevardnadze, they employed different media outlets and some tools to make the people side with them by visiting them in their houses and introducing them to their plans, today this practice has ceased to exist. However, some issues in this direction are to be handled – for instance, some unqualified and incompetent politicians must cease to enjoy free air time; and some amendments must be proposed in our legislation to make these people forfeit the right to political advertising.

As for the alleged usage of the governmental resources and the counter accusations that have recently reached our ears, frankly speaking, I cannot say that the Government resources are being employed in the election process today. Even if our Government was inclined to squander these resources to their own benefit, they would not manage to realize this goal; as an x-number of candidates of the leading party is running in the race today. The issue of some kind of pressure from the Government has also become the subject of ongoing debates and discussions; however, the present status quo in our country does not really suggest that this pressure is of enormous nature. In a nutshell, today’s election environment can be defined as rather liberal – as you know, each and every person in our country can enjoy the right to hold an election campaign and present the people with his/hers political platform.

- Today, when elections are only several days away how would you evaluate the slogans and political campaigns of our political parties? Can we place confidence in them? Can we credit that they are moved by a desire to deliver on their promises? Is Mr. Ghariabashvili’s allegation that the government will keep their word and cure the ills of our country trustworthy?

 

-- To tell the truth, in the present state of affairs, our people do not have any other choice but to give our authorities the vote of confidence… I cannot speak for our people and assert that they will place confidence in the leading team; however, I can say that the Georgian dream has let down its people but our public has not reached the breaking point just yet; and they are not likely to turn their back on the Georgian Dream. In addition, they do not have any other way out from this impasse today. As long as the non-parliamentary opposition keeps failling to unite, the only dominant power is the Georgian Dream Coalition on our political stage today.

- As some experts maintain, a key question that has surfaced on the eve of the local election is whether or not the Nationals will remain the government’s prime opposing power? In their opinion, the upcoming elections will clarify the names of core political adversaries who are in the running now. How big is the chance that the power balance will be strongly shaken on today’s political scene?

- As I have mentioned, the Georgian people are not faced with many options at this point in time. And as long as the non-parliamentary opposition fails to merge, the power balance in our political arena is strongly expected to remain unchanged.

In my mind, the first and the second positions in the elections will be taken between the Georgian Dream and the National Movement, while the third place will probably go to Burjanadze’s Christian-Democrats. The present status quo does not really give me any foundation to judge otherwise.

- Thus, in your words, three core political powers – Georgian Dream, National Movement and Burjanadze’s party will vie for ultimate power in the elections of 2016 …

- Right. These parties are strongly expected to be one another’s key political rivals; however, I am not sure that the Nationals and Burjanadze’s Christian-Democratic party can serve as a counterweight to the Georgian Dream. It’s true that the leaders of different parties are not running in the race but our public knows each of them perfectly well and frankly speaking, they do not have a very high opinion about these people. They must exert a really strenuous effort to make the public change their posture. They must offer a novelty to the Georgian people. It’s is true that the Nationals have thrown the issue of rebranding into the mix; these idle talks have not been translated into deeds thus far though.

- Our Experts do not exclude that for the parliamentary elections of 2016, a new powerful political force can surface on our political stage. Is this allegation trustworthy?

-- If the Georgian Dream really manages to run circles around other parties and win a landslide victory, expectations on appearance of a new political force in our political scene will automatically emerge. Thus, the possibility that Georgian Dream’s counterweight force will turn up is palpable, however, a harbinger of this cannot be seen yet.

- Rather strange political developments have occurred in our country for the last 20 years… The Georgian people have failed to formulate a clear-cut ideology and world outline, neither have they managed to form strong political parties. We have been left with the impression that liberal approaches have been put aside and religion has enjoyed increasing popularity among our people; religion is grabbing more and more power in Georgia. As for you, how would you describe the present situation in our country?

-I do completely share your position. For the last 20 years, the country’s social and political standing has been catastrophically deteriorated. The vast majority of our people have been dragged to a complete straightforward dead-end. On top of that, a great part of our physically active compatriots has fled the country. In parallel to this, our politicians have repeatedly let down our people and that is the reason why religion has overtopped other realms of our life. And this process is absolutely natural as people in hardship apparently need to be fortified by religious faith. This is a dangerous tendency and the Government must do everything in its power to change it.

Today, we are going through a rough patch and our authorities must redouble their efforts to help the people pass through these hard times.

-- In your opinion, in what manner have the current goings-on in Georgia’s political scene impacted Georgia? Against the backdrop of Ukraine’s developments, can the West’s reaction to Russia’s taken steps be defined as adequate?

- I do not think that the West’s response to Russia’s belligerent stance and the steps it has taken so far can be viewed as adequate. The West was not adequate in 2008 and has not changed its inert posture so far. However, it’s obvious that the western leaders have shown a more clear-cut position on Russia’s depredation of Ukraine than it did with respect to Georgia… It’s absolutely clear that the security strategy that the West elaborated after the collapse of the vicious empire is obsolete and needs refreshment.

We have already thrown light on the issue of religion. The present tendency in Georgia can generate really grave problems. If similar developments have not occurred in Russia yet, this does not mean that they will not take place there in the future. We are a small nation and I do think that the West must make the issue of security a core constituent of its strategy while dealing with us. And in my mind they have to make paramount decisions in this regard.

By all odds the present developments in the international arena will have a ripple effect on Georgia too. Abkhzia’ latest developments can back up my allegation.

- The West has proven to be a chaotic mix of voices; however, President Barack Obama has made strong statements during his tour around Europe. Can we assume that Obama’s visit to Europe will bring about any kind of change?

- Obama’s reset policy in terms of Russia has ended in failure. The U.S. leader knows that changing its attitude towards Russia is a must today. And now Europe’s readiness to support Washington’s position is of really paramount importance. I doubt that Obama will manage to make the Western leaders adopt a clear-cut position in terms of either Russia or Georgia; the latter is of little importance today though.

Koba Bendeliani

InterPressNews