Georgian PM says domestic opposition in “tragic state” ahead of local elections

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Thursday described the opposition's current state as “tragic”, asserting that neither internal efforts nor “blackmail from the European bureaucracy” have been effective.

Speaking to reporters, Kobakhidze attributed the radical opposition's fragmentation to what he termed the “deep state”.

“For four years, blackmail from the deep state of the European bureaucracy has continued, but nothing helps the radical opposition, because society has seen everything clearly. Society sees the goals with which the European bureaucracy acts in specific cases, and what the content is of that radical opposition which opposes state, national interests”, the PM said.

Kobakhidze further elaborated that the radical opposition's struggles stem from public perception.

“Therefore, nothing helps the radical opposition; on the contrary, the deep state itself has led the radical opposition to radical fragmentation. You see that two parties intend to participate in the elections, two parties do not intend to, and one way or another, in any configuration, naturally, all this radical opposition is doomed to total failure”, he concluded.