Georgian PM: not only UNM, the entire radical opposition faces deep crisis

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Saturday said that both the United National Movement and the wider opposition were facing serious internal weaknesses, including what he described as a shortage of qualified personnel and ideas.

Speaking to journalists during a visit to Tajikistan, Kobakhidze claimed that not only the United National Movement, but the broader radical opposition, was experiencing multiple challenges, including shortages of human resources and political ideas.

“Not only in the United National Movement, but in the entire radical opposition there is a difficult situation, there is every kind of deficit, every kind of hunger - there is a staffing shortage, an intellectual shortage, and the reflection of all this is the staffing ideas we have seen”, he said.

The Prime Minister further noted that the continued weakening of these political forces was beneficial for Georgia’s political system, as it could enable the emergence of a more constructive and “healthy” opposition.

“I have often said that this is very good for the improvement of Georgia’s political landscape. As long as parties such as the United National Movement and its affiliated parties represent the main core of the opposition, a healthy democratic system cannot be formed in Georgia”, Kobakhidze stressed.

“It is very good that these parties are getting weaker. In such conditions, Georgia gains the prospect of finally forming a healthy opposition spectrum and, accordingly, a healthy democratic system”, he concluded.