Day: May 15, 2025
Germany criticizes Georgian Dream
Germany’s new government is calling on Georgian Dream to stop spreading disinformation, tone down anti-EU rhetoric, change its political course, and end attacks on German Ambassador Peter Fischer.
The German Foreign Ministry issued this statement in response to a request from TV channel Formula:
“Germany and the European Union once again urge the Georgian government to stop spreading false narratives about European positions and policies, and to change its current political course. The German ambassador in Tbilisi represents the position of the federal government.
We are concerned that aggressive rhetoric from Georgian Dream officials toward the EU and its member states continues. Attacks on the German ambassador are unacceptable,” a Foreign Ministry spokesperson told Formula.
Salome Zourabichvili’s comment
“Attacks on Germany, the EU ambassador, and others are completely unacceptable. This only deepens Georgia’s isolation — which, it seems, is exactly what this government is aiming for,” said Georgia’s 5th president, Salome Zourabichvili, during a briefing.
She stressed that the opposition Resistance Platform, which she initiated, is alarmed by the rhetoric Georgian Dream is using toward its partners, especially Germany.
“Today we heard a very strong statement from the new German administration about how they view the fact that their ambassador — who represents Germany’s policy in Georgia — was insulted by the Georgian government. These attacks on Germany, its representatives, the EU ambassador and others are absolutely unacceptable. They only worsen Georgia’s isolation, which, unfortunately, seems to be the government’s goal,” Zourabichvili said.
On May 13, 2025, the speaker of the parliament led by Georgian Dream, Shalva Papuashvili, claimed that the German government bans domestic movements that “do not recognize the legitimacy of the government,” while in Georgia, it funds groups that do exactly that.
“In Germany, the government bans the so-called Reichsbürger movement on the grounds that it ‘does not recognize the legitimacy of the elected German government,’ ‘creates parallel government structures,’ ‘boycotts government decisions,’ ‘obstructs police work,’ and ‘claims Germany is ruled by occupying forces.’
Meanwhile, in Georgia, the German government funds groups that do not recognize the legitimacy of Georgia’s elected government, create parallel government structures, boycott government decisions, obstruct police work, and claim Georgia is ruled by occupying forces. This is happening at the same time, on the same planet,” Papuashvili said.
News in Georgia
Germany criticizes Georgian Dream
The Freedom Square political party has accused the ruling Georgian Dream party of refusing to officially register the party after the Public Registry rejected its application for the second time. The party alleges political bias behind the decision and claims that Georgian Dream is obstructing its registration because it realizes that new political forces are the main obstacle to its corrupt and repressive policies.
In a Facebook statement, the party emphasized that its members have entered political life “with a clean slate,” unaffiliated with any of the country’s previous ruling parties. The announcement also appealed to supporters for financial contributions to help “build a responsible, accountable, and democratic political party.”
“[Georgian] Dream’s decisions and bureaucratic tricks will not stop us from building our party,” read the statement. Party leader Levan Tsutskiridze wrote in a Facebook post, “In the end, they will have to register us!” He added that the party plans to convene a new congress and expand its outreach efforts.
The Freedom Square movement officially transitioned into a political party on March 8, following its founding congress. The movement was initially established in 2024 ahead of the October 26 elections and participated as part of the opposition Strong Georgia coalition, which was founded by Lelo Party leaders. During the founding congress, the party announced its decision to continue as an independent political force.
The party’s allegations come as the GD pushes forward a legislative package that authorizes the Constitutional Court to prohibit opposition groups whose leadership, objectives, or activities are identical to those of the previously banned party. It also allows the Court to ban the political group “whose aim is to overthrow or change Georgia’s constitutional order by force, undermine the country’s independence, violate its territorial integrity, engage in war or violence propaganda, incite national, regional, religious, or social strife.” The bill also envisages banning “successor parties” The law aims to ban political forces “whose activities, the personal composition of decision-makers, or statutory goals” are identical to those of the already banned ones.
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