"We must protect the institution of the president, even when it is threatened by the president himself" - the ruling party of Georgia

Georgian Dream on President Zurabishvili

The political council of Georgia’s ruling party Georgian Dream responded to critical statements by the country’s President Salome Zurabishvili about the actions of the authorities. According to members of Georgian Dream, they are responsible for protecting the institution of the president, so Georgian Dream does not consider it appropriate to respond to “the political statements of Salome Zurabishvili.”

In the presidential elections of 2018, Georgian Dream supported the candidacy of Zurabishvili precisely in the expectation that she would properly perform the function of a “partisan president,” the authors of the statement believe.

“We considered that the best candidate for this position could be a non-partisan woman, a descendant of famous figures of the First Republic of Georgia, and thus she would personify the connection between the history of the First Republic and modern Georgia. However, unfortunately, Salome Zurabishvili took a different path and in the past two years has clearly demonstrated political engagement in favor of the radical opposition.

Despite the fact that the actions of Ms. Zurabishvili have recently been characterized by extreme bias and political bias, which grossly contradicts the function of a constitutionally non-partisan official, our position is that we must fundamentally refrain from criticizing the President of Georgia. The responsibility of the ruling party is not to contribute to the belittling of the institution of the president. For the same purpose, we consider it our duty to prevent the deepening of political confrontation. We must defend the institution of the presidency even when the prestige of that institution is threatened by the incumbent president himself.

In conditions when Zurabishvili is losing the legitimacy of that part of the society that voted for her in 2018, and does not find support from the rest of the population, it is our duty not to criticize the president in the future. This serves the purpose of maintaining minimal legitimacy for Zurabishvili in the remaining year and a half of her term to exercise presidential functions. This also dictated our decision not to engage in polemics with Ms. Zurabishvili.

Georgian Dream expresses the hope that Zurabishvili will not worsen the confrontation with the majority of Georgian society, and Georgian Dream, in turn, is ready to provide maximum assistance to the President of Georgia in order to avoid “deepening confrontation with the people.”

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Speaking at an event dedicated to May 26, the country’s Independence Day, Zurabishvili said that society would not give up on the European choice and it was time for the government to fulfill its promise. She also stressed that the government is trying to sow fear in society and is conducting anti-Western propaganda.

“It is incomprehensible and insulting that today we consider how many millions the “gift” in the form of the resumption of flights [between Georgia and Russia] will bring us. Our dignity is sold for 200 or 300 million! And now, from this rostrum, I would like to address the families of Giorgi Antsukhelidze and Gigi Otkhozoria. I, as the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of this country, apologize for the insult, which is an insult not only to you, but to the whole country!

Our foreign policy has become incomprehensible. The European path is spelled out in the constitution, but daily statements alienate us from Europe and lead to isolation.”