On October 5, President Salome Zurabishvil talked about her visits abroad in Europe, plans for the composition of the government after the elections, guarantees that might be needed for the current ruling party, the emigrant vote, and the role of public servants in shaping the new and developed Georgia after the elections, in an interview for TV Pirveli.
The President was asked about the significance of her visits to European countries last week, especially in the context of the Georgian government’s current total isolation from the West. She stated that the reason for her visits was “precisely that our relations with everyone are ruined,” noting that she had to make sure that after the citizens of Georgia show that they are firmly on the path of EU integration during the elections, the EU will return Georgia to the process from which it was “torn off” by GD.
Zurabishvili noted that during her visits she received guarantees from European leaders that the EU is waiting for Georgia, and if Georgians decide that the EU is the ultimate goal, the “open window” opportunity granted to Georgia because of Ukraine is still open and waiting. She even stated that the goal is to return firmly to this path through the decision of the Council of the European Union in June 2025 to open accession negotiations with Georgia, in the process of which she emphasized the help of the Polish President, who will chair the Council next year and who she met during her visit last week.
The President also pointed out that Georgian Dream’s campaign, which is based on empty promises of bringing Georgia closer to the EU, is a lie that reminds her of the claims the USSR used to make about being a democracy. She also highlighted other similarities between the Soviet Union and GD, such as the recent campaign banners, and stated that GD’s actions in recent years have been a complete copy of the Russian modus operandi. Zurabishvili noted that she has often been asked by Western leaders when this change in GD policy occurred, but she has no answer because she doesn’t have the facts about “who is tied to Russia with invisible strings” and since when does GD “dance to the tune played by Moscow.”
Apart from discussing the messages of the European leaders, she also focused on the notes she received during the meeting with the Special Advisor to the U.S. President Michael Carpenter, saying that she got the feeling that the U.S. side is refraining from imposing sanctions on the founder of the GD Bidzina Ivanishvili in order to avoid the allegations of interference in the internal politics of the country. She also noted that GD’s hopes that the change of government in the U.S. will bring an opportunity to “clean up” relations with the strategic partner are deceptive, because the “Megobari Act” initiated in the Congress is a proof of bipartisan support for the Georgian people, and that if GD’s actions continue, more sanctions will await it.
President Zurabishvili was asked if she would have communication with Ivanishvili to share the Western messages she received, to which she answered that she is not opposed to that, however, the last time she communicated with him was in June 2022, but even then he basically forwarded his message sent to the U.S. Ambassador and indicated that he doesn’t have the will to talk to her. She was also asked if Ivanishvili will need some guarantees that he will be safe after the elections, to which she replied that she doesn’t know if now is the time to propose such guarantees to him.
As for the guarantees to the Georgian Dream Party in general, she stated that as President she guarantees that she will protect the rights of the party after it moves to the opposition, just as she protects the rights of other parties. Here she also emphasized the existential need for the four main opposition parties to receive enough votes to compose the government and fulfill the goals enshrined in the Georgian Charter, while the GD and other small parties will be in opposition as part of a healthy political environment.
Regarding the composition of the government, she stated that she already has a good candidate for the post of Prime Minister, who doesn’t have a political background and will be announced after consultations with the opposition parties. She also noted that these consultations will begin this week.
In addition, she described how she sees the government after the elections, saying that the political center will be in the Parliament, while the ministers will serve only to return Georgia to the EU in the next year or so, until the technical government changes again through elections. She also emphasized the role of civil servants in achieving the goals set out in the Georgian Charter, saying that they have worked very well over the past year and the main problem they face now is party loyalty, which needs to be shaken off.
Finally, the President focused on the problems of the emigrants who want to vote abroad, saying that the limited polling stations are in the best interest of the GD party because no emigrant will vote for them and emphasizing that the issue is stuck in a closed circle because the Ministry of Foreign Affairs claims that it is not their competence to instruct the CEC to open more polling stations. She called on the emigrants to do their best to participate in the elections anyway and urged their family members to do the same.
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