New vs Old
Op-Ed
There is confusion within the Georgian Dream, with familiar faces opposing the new. The old accuse the new of authoritarianism and collaborationism. As time passes, the list of these allegations is increasing, slowly evolving into a large-scale confrontation. It seems that the Majority’s support of Ninia Kakabadze, the candidate to join the Georgian Public Broadcaster supervisory board offered by the opposition, was just the reason with which it would become clear who is dominating the governmental party in reality: the old or the new?
Everything started off with the demarche from MP Gedevan Popkhadze, who publicly announced his intention to leave the majority. The rebellious MP denounced the choice of the ‘new’ party members, saying: “I do not want to be part of the decision by which a woman who insults the Patriarch and the Church becomes the member of the Supervisory Board. This is categorically unacceptable for me”. Ninia Kakabadze, the opposition candidate who was chosen to enter the Board of the Public Broadcaster, was also supported by the parliamentary majority.
Who are those new political faces that the older accuse of authoritarianism and collaborationism? New are those who are gathered around the Chairman of Parliament Irakli Kobakhidze and who entered Parliament after the elections of 2016. The ‘old’ are the well-known politicians from Georgian Dream who started the war against the so-called "9 Bloody Years" before the elections of 2012 and who are considered the veterans of the party.
It is difficult to say why Gedevan Popkhadze is considered to be among the veterans, setting aside his age, even his political biography isn’t distinguished by any important episodes, such that are given high importance by the governmental majority. In those defining moments of years 2007 and 2009, Popkhadze was far from fighting the ‘regime’, but was actively playing the international TV Game: What? Where? When? In spite of this, the biographies of the ‘new’ faces gathered around Irakli Kobakhidze still got more attention: where were you before 2012? –is the main indictment from the olds against the new.
A truly ridiculous tragicomedy isn’t it? When the majority of the parliamentary majority believes that the main criterion demonstrating political wisdom is if one did take part in the rallies on November 7, 2007 or not. By that same logic though, Bidzina Ivanishvili hasn’t participated in any of the protest rallies and was believed to be the main ally of Mikheil Saakashvili at that time. Therefore, waving around the biographies of fellow party members doesn’t really count as an argument in this political battle. Political analyst Gia Khukhashvili thinks that everything is much more difficult than it seems at a first glance. “I believe that it is not about Popkhadze, he was just an excuse, used for making finally clear who dominates. Dreamers consists of the so-called old and the new, the latter being a minority group of quite ambitious members, headed by Kobakhidze.” – told Khukhashvili to the journalists. Some names of the 5-6 new people are the leader of the majority Archil Talakvadze and Head of Fraction Mamuka Mdiinaradze. These MPs have been brought into the party list of the GD by the quota of Kakhi Kaladze, who at that point was heading the party election office. Hence, rather than the new faces of the parliament, the real addressee of Popkhadze’s demarche could have been the Major of Tbilisi – Kakha Kaladze. And we all know where he was before 2012 – supporting President Mikheil Saakashvili.
By Zaza Jgarkava
Image source: pia.ge