Georgian Parliament official: opposition lacks public support, real influence

Archil Gorduladze, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee, on Friday said the domestic opposition had no real influence over society and lacked public support, regardless of whether it united or fragmented.

Commenting on the opposition’s future plans, Gorduladze criticised what he described as the “collective agent network” of opposition forces, arguing that their internal dynamics had no relevance for Georgian society and did not translate into political influence.

“Whether they break up or merge, whether they insult or praise one another, the so-called collective agent network has no power or influence over society. Moreover, it has absolutely no support from the Georgian people. Their statements are useful only for making a news segment on a few television channels”, he said.

The official further argued that the opposition’s lack of support stemmed from what he described as its externally driven nature.

“It makes no difference whether the radical opposition unites or splits; they are not independent even in their own decisions. We have repeatedly seen that in order to disseminate information or make statements, they need their patrons, their task-givers, to send them the text, which they then simply translate into Georgian and follow word for word, punctuation included”, he noted.

Gorduladze concluded that, as the opposition was governed from outside the country, it had effectively lost all public trust and influence within Georgian society.

“Accordingly, their unification and statements have no significance whatsoever. They have been reduced to a waiting mode, expecting what instructions their patrons will give them. Because they are governed from the outside, their support within Georgian society is equal to zero”, Gorduladze concluded.