Georgian Prime Minister accuses opposition of following foreign instructions

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Thursday asserted that the domestic opposition parties were unable to make independent decisions and were instead guided by external forces.

His remarks came in response to a journalist’s question regarding the European Parliament's recent call for the Georgian opposition to participate in the upcoming local self-government elections.

“It is quite telling that the opposition is being dictated from outside on what actions to take. They cannot make decisions independently and rely on instructions from abroad”, the PM said.

The Prime Minister suggested that, despite their current strong rhetoric and what he described as “bullying” other opposition parties for choosing to participate in the elections, major opposition groups such as the United National Movement and Akhali might reverse their stance if prompted by foreign actors.

“Even though today they are bullying other opposition figures who have expressed willingness to join the local elections, I believe that once they receive instructions from outside, they might change their minds. That would be extremely humiliating for them. Just imagine - after accusing others and making bold statements, they end up participating themselves. But they have signed off on humiliations before, and I think they’ll do it again”, he concluded.