Georgian PM's remarks on "Global War Party" and Venice Commission's "helpless facial expression"
Kobakhidze and the “Global War Party”
The prime minister of Georgia, Irakli Kobakhidze, granted an extensive interview to the local TV “First channel” in which he stated that the Venice Commission demonstrated a “helpless facial expression” when delivering its opinion on the Georgian Parliament’s law “On Transparency of Foreign Influence.”
Kobakhidze also threatened the so-called “Global War Party” with the disclosure of information held by the Georgian authorities and promised fundamental reforms to the education system if the current ruling party, “Georgian Dream,” wins the parliamentary elections in October 2024.
Here are some excerpts from the prime minister’s interview:
“Need for a new education system”
“One of the systems adapted by the representatives of the previous government was the education system. It was also an external assignment. They destroyed textbooks, the national curriculum, pursued terrible policies towards teachers, and so on. They artificially dismantled all of this, ultimately creating a robust system that is challenging to rebuild.
Even more serious problems arose in higher education systems. Taking Tbilisi State University (TSU), where I also teach, the overall picture is very unfavorable.
One of the factors is that a large number of professors are selected purely for political reasons. This means they have political bias, it is clear on whose side they are, and lack sufficient qualifications.
This applies to a very large part of the profession, so it’s a vicious circle, the system is completely broken. As a result, neither textbooks nor science are being developed; all of this requires a qualitative transformation.”
Additionally, Kobakhidze stated that Georgia’s current education system is built on pseudo-liberal ideology.
“Helpless facial expression” of the Venice Commission
“I was simply puzzled as a lawyer reading this document [the Venice Commission’s opinion] – the expression on the Commission’s face, as presented in it, was so helpless.
They have nothing to say. The Venice Commission’s conclusion is full of lies and completely absurd legal arguments without any substantiation. But ultimately, society doesn’t look at what the Venice Commission said, but at where the truth lies, and this is one of the serious achievements we have made in the last two to three years.
This is why we often say that our country is as sovereign today as never before. This means that society values the independence of our country more today than it did even three to four years ago.”
“Freeing the US and EU from the influence of the ‘Global War Party'”
The “Global War Party” is a mysterious international organization frequently mentioned by the Georgian government in its speeches. According to their version, this powerful organization includes influential Western politicians interested in prolonging the war in Ukraine for as long as possible and spreading it to other countries.
However, none of the Georgian politicians adhering to this conspiracy theory, including Mariam Lashkhi, can name a single specific member of the “Global War Party” and do not rush to provide the allegedly available “facts.”
“These forces exert key influence on both the European Union and the United States, which is very regrettable. One thing can be said for sure: both America and the European Union need de-oligarchization. Negative processes are taking place, and we hope that the situation will change for the better in the future.
No, we do not call our [Western] partners the ‘global war party,’ but we declare that it has a significant influence on this political space.
And it is important to free them from this influence; otherwise, we would have a fundamentally different position, and now we have a very clearly expressed position: we want integration into the European Union, we want closer cooperation with the United States. However, unfortunately, we see opposite processes due to the influence exerted on them.”
“We act solely in defense of national interests, and the only thing that drives us is the national interests of our country.
We have information regarding when and how the ‘Global War Party’ was involved in complex processes in Georgia — this happened at various times, including even May 14 [the day when the law ‘On Transparency of Foreign Influence’ was adopted]. And this information is our protection against blackmail, protection of the interests of our country.”
Respect for traditions vs ‘pseudo-liberalism’
“In our country, we need classical, traditional values. We must understand that the national identity of our country needs to be protected to the fullest, including, of course, the Orthodox Church, Christian values. If our Christian culture is destroyed, there will be nothing left of Georgia’s Europeanization, so we will have to take care of it to the maximum.
It is impossible to reconcile respect for traditions and pseudo-liberalism.”
