EU Ambassador's remarks “clear interference”, says Georgian Parliament Vice Speaker

Giorgi Kakhiani, the Vice Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, on Friday criticised EU Ambassador Paweł Herczyński, claiming that despite asserting neutrality, the Ambassador’s remarks and actions amount to political interference in Georgia’s domestic affairs.

In response to recent comments made by Herczyński, Kakhiani accused the diplomat of making statements that contradicted his professed non-interference in Georgian politics.

“The EU Ambassador says on the one hand that he does not interfere in Georgia’s internal affairs or politics, but on the other hand, he makes statements that are the very definition of interference. It’s gone so far that foreign ministers from EU member states come and stand at rallies in Tbilisi. What could be a greater form of pressure or interference in internal affairs?” Kakhiani said.

The Vice Speaker argued that while Herczynski publicly claimed not to interfere in internal affairs, his statements regarding opposition participation in local elections demonstrated the opposite.

“As for the local elections and the opposition’s stance, in the end, these radical opposition members will do whatever their foreign patrons tell them to do. But I’m confident that some of them - if not all - will definitely participate in the elections and are already preparing for it. Maybe they’re misleading their voters, pretending they won’t take part, and so on, but in reality, they’re getting ready and will participate”, he noted.

Kakhiani further expressed confidence that the opposition would perform poorly in the upcoming local elections, just as they did in the parliamentary elections last October, arguing that public support for them continues to decline.

“And really, what logic is there in refusing to take part in elections, when their main demand right now is to hold snap elections? Elections are approaching - if they’re capable, let them come and prove themselves. But they also know very well that they’ll get an even worse outcome than they did in the parliamentary elections. I’m sure of it, and once again it will be evident that public support for them is shrinking more and more”, Kakhiani concluded.