Opinion: What will happen if the protest movement in Georgia fails?
What will happen in Georgia if the protests fail
The de facto cancellation of elections, isolation from the West, focus on the Russian market, full control of intelligence services in the education system, and internet censorship – political analyst David Zurabishvili shared his predictions on what Georgia could face if the protest movement fails and the current “Georgian Dream” government consolidates its power.
Commentary
David Zurabishvili, political analyst:
1. Georgia will be isolated from the European Union, the United States, and the entire Western world, and the visa-free regime with the EU will be revoked.
2. All programs and projects funded by the European Union and the US will be stopped. For reference, 90% of this funding is directed toward social assistance, government structures, and local authorities, not the non-governmental sector as many supporters of “Georgian Dream” believe.
3. There will be a total purge of government services. Loyalty to the regime will become a necessary condition for employment not only in the public sector but also in the private sector.
4. The opposition and independent media will be abolished, leaving only their symbolic forms. The same fate awaits the non-governmental sector.
5. Georgia’s armed forces will be significantly reduced and rearmed with Russian and Chinese products and equipment.
6. Censorship will be imposed on the internet, print media, and video production.
7. Religious education will replace civic education in schools, with teachers selected from those who have passed security services checks.
8. Higher education institutions will be fully under the control of security services, with professors selected based on their political loyalty.
9. Georgia will no longer be a member of the Council of Europe, meaning it will not comply with the rulings of the Strasbourg Court. The reinstatement of the death penalty may also be considered.
10. Elections as a mechanism for changing power will be effectively abolished, with the ruling party securing 80-90 percent of the votes in all elections.
11. Georgia will become a member of all international organizations dominated by Russia.
12. Georgian business and entertainment industries will be oriented toward the Russian market.
13. The highest authority in legislative, executive, and judicial powers will be the oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili.
14. The only way to influence the will of this supreme authority will be to penetrate the Kremlin and make a call from Moscow. Calls from Baku, Istanbul, and Beijing will likely be useless.
If this government stays in power, much more will happen. This is just what will undoubtedly occur. This is not a hypothesis, but an inevitability, and the arrival of such a future will not take long.
The question is: do we want such a country? The choice is ours.”
