Georgian PM says rivalry within UNM reflects competition among “foreign agents”

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Friday said infighting within the opposition United National Movement (UNM) reflected competition among what he described as “foreign agents”, adding that the party’s actions required a legal response beyond electoral defeat.

In his remarks, Kobakhidze argued that the opposition was no longer acting as a genuine political force but as a network serving foreign interests.

“The agents are in disarray. This is not even an opposition anymore. It is a foreign agent network. Because they are competing for primacy in the eyes of their patrons, they have failed, amid this rivalry, to preserve even the level of success they had years ago”, he said.

“The processes are moving in the right direction, but I will say once again that this is still not enough. The most important thing is that this treacherous force, this hostile force, a force that is hostile toward the Georgian people and the Georgian state, receives an appropriate response. It is not enough for society to respond to them through elections alone. This requires an appropriate legal response. This is an agent network, and it requires an appropriate legal assessment. Their acts of sabotage require an appropriate legal assessment, and the authorities will, of course, do everything possible to ensure that”, Kobakhidze concluded.