Georgian Dream

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Georgian Dream –
Democratic Georgia
ქართული ოცნება –
დემოკრატიული საქართველო
63 / 64
Website
gd.ge

Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia (Georgian: ქართული ოცნება – დემოკრატიული საქართველო, romanized: kartuli otsneba – demok'rat'iuli sakartvelo) is a political party in Georgia. The party was established on 19 April 2012 by the businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili.[7] Georgian Dream and its partners in a coalition also named Georgian Dream won majorities in the 2012, 2016, and 2020 general elections. The party is currently led by Irakli Garibashvili as Party Chairman and Irakli Kobakhidze as Prime Minister.

History

The party evolved from the public movement Georgian Dream, launched by Bidzina Ivanishvili as a platform for his political activities in December 2011. Since Ivanishvili was not a Georgian citizen at the moment of the party's inaugural session, the lawyer Manana Kobakhidze was elected as an interim, nominal chairman of the Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia. The party also includes several notable Georgians such as the former diplomat Tedo Japaridze, chess grandmaster Zurab Azmaiparashvili, security commentator Irakli Sesiashvili, writer Guram Odisharia, and famed footballer Kakha Kaladze.[8][9]

Georgian Dream was created partly as a reaction to the United National Movement (UNM) of Mikheil Saakashvili, which became increasingly unpopular in a decade of rule for its neoliberal economic policy, extremely punitive criminal justice system and confrontational approach to Russia. The regime was described as "an extremely punitive and abusive criminal justice, law-and-order system, which ended up with the highest per capita prison population in Europe – even higher than in Russia – in which torture became absolutely routine... Almost zero acquittal cases in criminal trials, mass surveillance, telephone tapping, and a lot of pressure put on businessmen, including intimidation, so they contribute to government projects."[10]

Events such as violent dispersal of 2007 and 2011 Georgian demonstrations, 2012 Gldani prison scandal involving revelations about systemic torture of inmates in Georgian prisons, 2006 Sandro Girgvliani murder case and loss of territories in 2008 Russo-Georgian War contributed to the party's increasing loss of support among general population. However, before Georgian Dream, no other party managed to unite opposition and mobilize popular support.

Formation in 2012 and Electoral Successes

In April 2012, Georgian Dream became a political party, and staged several mass demonstrations against the Saakashvili government. On 21 February 2012, Ivanishvili announced a coalition under the name "Georgian Dream", composed of his planned political party of the same name, the Republican Party of Georgia, Our Georgia – Free Democrats, and the National Forum. Bidzina Ivanishvili, a businessman primarily known for charity and contributions to public projects, became a leader of the united opposition movement. Georgian Dream successfully challenged the ruling United National Movement (UNM) in the 2012 parliamentary election, pledging to increase welfare spending and pursue a more pragmatic foreign policy with Russia.[8][11] It won this election in coalition with six other opposition parties, with 54.97% of the vote, being allotted 85 seats in parliament.[7] The governing UNM took 40.34%. President Mikheil Saakashvili conceded that his party lost, and pledged to support the constitutional process of forming a new government.[12]

On 25 October 2012, Bidzina Ivanishvili was elected as the prime minister of Georgia. During this period, the State Universal Healthcare Program came into force (making emergency surgeries and childbirth free of charge), the reform of the system of self-governance was initiated and the project on saving agriculture was developed. In November 2013, Ivanishvili voluntarily stepped down as prime minister after just 13 months in office, saying that he was quitting the political arena.

In October 2013, Giorgi Margvelashvili, a member of the Georgian Dream party, won the presidential election, gaining 61.12% of the vote.[13] He succeeded President Mikheil Saakashvili, who had served the maximum two terms since coming to power in the bloodless 2003 "Rose Revolution".

In April 2018, senior MP Gedevan Popkhadze threatened to quit the party for its endorsement of an opposition-nominated candidate, journalist Ninia Kakabadze to the supervisory board of the Georgian Public Broadcaster.[14] Popkhadze criticized Kakabadze for being anti-religious. The incident is seen as an internal conflict between long-time GD members which joined the party while it was in opposition and a new group of members who were installed in high positions prior to the 2016 parliamentary elections. The news agency Democracy and Freedom Watch related the incident to the return of Bidzina Ivanishvili as chairman of the party later that month, which furthermore was perceived as a move to maintain the unity of the coalition.[15]

In August 2018, Irakli Kobakhidze announced that the party would not nominate a candidate for the 2018 presidential elections. Instead it would support the independent candidate Salome Zourabichvili.

Post 2019 Dissension in the Party

In late 2019,

2019 Georgian protests,[17][18][19][20] its relatively successful handling of the COVID-19 pandemic led to a boost in popularity, which helped it to secure victory in the 2020 parliamentary election. However, accusations of electoral fraud by the Georgian opposition subsequently led to the six-month political crisis in Georgia.[21]

On 11 January 2021, shortly after the election, Ivanishvili announced that he was decisively leaving politics and resigned as Chairman of Georgian Dream, stating that "he had accomplished his goal". Irakli Kobakhidze was elected as a new chairman of the party.[22]

In February 2021, the Georgian Dream underwent split following Giorgi Gakharia's unexpected resignation from the post of Prime Minister of Georgia. Gakharia cited disagreement with his party colleagues over enforcing an arrest order for Nika Melia, who was sent to pre-trial detention by the Court after he declined to pay bail. Melia, chairman of the opposition United National Movement party, was accused of organizing mass violence during the anti-government protests in 2019. Although Gakharia agreed that Melia's prosecution was lawful, he wanted to postpone Melia's arrest to avoid further political tensions between the government and the opposition. Gakharia also said that he no longer agreed with the positions of the Georgian Dream and he therefore was leaving the party.[23] Several MPs from Georgian Dream joined him to form a new party For Georgia.[24] The Georgian Dream party supported Irakli Garibashvili to replace Gakharia, and the Parliament voted 89–2 to appoint him as the next prime minister. Garibashvili had an earlier term as prime minister in 2013–2015.

2021 Election Victory

Even though the government and the opposition worked to bring an end to the political crisis in April 2021, tensions remained high. In tense 2021 Georgian local elections, the Georgian Dream managed to secure victory, gaining 46.75% of the vote. The mayoral candidates of the Georgian Dream won in all municipalities except Tsalenjikha. However, the party lost majority in seven out of 64 municipal assemblies.[25]

During the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Georgian Dream government provided humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and sheltered Ukrainian refugees, while supporting Ukraine at diplomatic forums. It did not join financial and economic sanctions imposed on Russia by several Western countries and did not provide military assistance to Ukraine. Nikoloz Samkharadze, Chair of Foreign Relations Committee of Georgian Parliament in interview to Vice
stated that "Georgia is the most exposed country in the world to the Russian aggression. The Russian troops are stationed 30 kilometers away from where we are sitting right now, from the heart of the Tbilisi. So, in this circumstances, I think Georgia is punching above its weight when it supports Ukraine at diplomatic forum, politically and also in humanitarian dimension".

On 25 February 2022, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said that Georgia would not join sanctions against Russia due to pragmatic considerations, as doing so would hurt the country's economy and might lead to escalation and war with Russia. The relations with the political leadership of the European Union worsened in the following months. In June 2022, the European Parliament adopted a six-page resolution calling the European Council to impose personal sanctions on the founder of the Georgian Dream party Bidzina Ivanishvili, accusing him of "determining the position of the current Government of Georgia towards sanctions on Russia". In August 2022, several MPs left Georgian Dream to establish the People's Power movement, with a goal of speaking more openly about the European Union's involvement in the Georgian politics. The movement accused the European Union and the United States of America of violating Georgia's sovereignty and pressuring Georgia to open "second front" against Russia. According to the movement, a number of Georgian political parties (including the largest opposition party, United National Movement) and NGOs are "American agents" who work to overthrow the Government of Georgia and drag the country into the Russo-Ukrainian War.

October 2022 loss of majority

In October 2022, Georgian Dream lost its

parliamentary majority as a result of defections. People's Power said that it would still support the government, while the Georgian Dream chairperson Irakli Kobakhidze pledged to cooperate with People's Power on key issues.[26][27][28]

In March 2023, Georgian Dream supported a draft foreign agent law presented by the People's Power movement, which would have labeled civil society and media organizations which receive more than 20% of their total revenue from abroad as "foreign agents". The draft law was criticized by the US State Department, United Nations and European Union. The proposed law led to the 2023 Georgian protests. Parliament suspended further discussions of the bill in response to the protests.[29]

On 11 May 2023, GD announced it was disaffiliating from the Party of European Socialists, pre-empting possible expulsion. The controversy followed the participation of Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili in the Conservative Political Action Conference in Hungary, which was criticized by PES.[30]

On 30 December 2023, Bidzina Ivanishvili, declared his return to frontline politics after a hiatus, strategically timed before the 2024 parliamentary elections. Ivanishvili made a speech in which he described the geopolitical situation as "complicated" and criticized the opposition for its perceived failure in holding the government accountable; he cited these as reasons for his comeback.[31]

Change of leadership

On 29 January 2024, Garibashvili announced his resignation as Prime Minister, citing the importance of internal inter-party democracy and the need to "give others a chance." The announcement was made during a special briefing at the Government Administration, where Garibashvili confirmed his acceptance of an offer to become the Chair of the Georgian Dream party. Expressing gratitude to various party members and government officials, including founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, Garibashvili acknowledged their support during his term as Prime Minister.[32] Kobakhidze replaced him as prime minister.

In March 2024 Georgian Dream proposed a constitutional amendment to "protect family values and minors" and to allow marriage only of "a union of a single genetic male and a single genetic female." It would prohibit "gender transition", same-sex marriages and the adoption of children by same-sex couples.[33]

Ideology

Like many parties of power, Georgian Dream lacks a clear ideology. The reasons that were given for this range from the party's history as an all-encompassing front of diverse parties opposed to the United National Movement government to the standard opportunism associated with such parties. Levan Lortkipanidze, a political science student at Tbilisi State University, described it as "a party of nomenclature, public servants, 'intelligentsia', medium and large businessmen, and technocrats – a party, which is held together through loyalty to its charismatic leader and the opposition to the government of the 'Rose Revolution.'"[34]

The party has at times self-identified as

centre-left.[37][38][39]

In 2017, the Georgian Dream-led parliament implemented a major constitutional reform. A new constitution made Georgia a parliamentary republic, transitioned Georgia's parliamentary elections to a fully proportional system by 2024 and abolished direct presidential elections. It also contained a number of ideologically diverse provisions. The new amendments adopted several national conservative articles, including a ban on the purchase of agricultural land by foreign nationals and a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.[40] They also adopted several social democratic articles, such as a new article about "social state", which enshrined a number of socio-economic rights in matters of health care, education, employment, and social security. The article also postulated that "the state should take care of strengthening social justice, social equality and social solidarity in the society".[41] The Georgian Dream deputies also supported removing from the constitution a ban on progressive taxes and a requirement to hold referenda to raise corporate and income tax rates, provisions implemented by the former governing United National Movement party of Mikheil Saakashvili. This proposal caused protests from the opposition and as a compromise solution it was announced that the ban would remain in place until 2029.[42] According to professor David Zedelashvili, the leftist groups gave the most support to the Georgian Dream constitutional commission and got the most concessions.[43]

The 2021 study by the Georgian Institute of Politics described the Georgian Dream party as having "rather conservative cultural values along with progressive green values".

gay parade in Tbilisi, saying that it is against Georgia's predominant Christian traditions and conservative values. Garibashvili also denounced discrimination against LGBT individuals and praised his government for adopting the anti-discrimination law, while noting that "propagandistic parades" only increase discrimination.[47][48] In 2023, the party has denounced "LGBT propaganda among children" and blamed it for increasing number of people who identify as LGBT in the Western countries.[49] Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said that the "imposition of LGBT values" is the "violence of the minority over the majority", adding that "as we protect the rights of the minority, just like that we will also protect the rights of the majority".[50][51] In the words of the party's parliamentary speaker Irakli Kobakhidze "We rest on values such as democracy, rule of law, human rights protection, justice, equality and tolerance, but at the same time, pseudo-liberalism and the forces, which are challenging our national identity, traditions and the Georgian churches, as well as the forces, which are challenging the very same values in the U.S., are unacceptable."[52]

The party supports increasing women's representation in politics and voted in favor of amendments to Georgia's Election Code which introduced gender quotas in Georgia, requiring political parties which participate in elections to include women in every fourth position on their party lists.[53] In 2017, the party voted in favor of the ratification of the Istanbul Convention in Georgia.

The party advocates banning old cars for their high levels of carbon emissions and introducing a corporate green tax for businesses that cause environmental pollution.[54]

The biggest rival party is the United National Movement of Mikheil Saakashvili. Therefore, the party's ideology is focused on opposing the UNM and Saakashvili. In this context, political debates often focus on relations with Russia, with both parties accusing each other of 'playing into Moscow's hands'. Social issues are mostly absent from political speeches and debates.[55]

Foreign policy

In the field of foreign policy and security, the Georgian Dream supports the European integration,[56][57] while also taking pragmatic approach to Russia. In December 2020, the Parliament of Georgia, attended only by the representatives of the "Georgian Dream", adopted a resolution declaring integration into the EU and NATO as Georgia's priorities "without alternative". The resolution also talks about strengthening the partnership with the UK, France, the Baltic countries and the Visegrad Group.[58] The document points at the "pragmatic and principled" policy towards Russia.[59] Irakli Kobakhidze has stated that "pragmatic policy with Russia is aimed at avoiding harm to Georgia, its citizens".[60] During the 2012 Georgian parliamentary election campaign the party vowed to restore economic relations with Russia hampered by the 2006 Russian ban of Moldovan and Georgian wines, citing the importance of Russian market for Georgian citizens working in wine industry (Russia was responsible for 80-90% of the total wine exports in Georgia before the ban). At the same time, the party opposed restoring the diplomatic and political ties with Russia until the disputes with Russia over Abkhazia and South Ossetia were solved. The party considers that these conflicts should be solved only through negotiations.[61]

Regarding the Russo-Ukrainian War, the party supported imposing sanctions on Russian-annexed Crimea and Sevastopol in 2014. This measure mirrored Ukraine's restrictions on trade and financial transactions with Georgia's breakaway regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and was meant to signal Georgia's support for the territorial integrity of Ukraine.[62] However, the party did not join Ukraine and Western countries in imposing wide-ranging sanctions on Russia to avoid possible confrontation.[63] Amid the 2022 escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, the party supported imposing sanctions on Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic.[64] However, the party ruled out imposing any economic sanctions against Russia and providing military aid to Ukraine, citing potential harm to Georgian economy and absence of any security guarantees in case of confrontation with Russia.[65] Prime Minister Garibashvili also recalled the Russia-Georgia war in 2008 and stressed that no sanctions had been imposed by the Western countries on Russia following its invasion.[66] The party vowed to support Ukraine at diplomatic arena, voting in favor of pro-Ukraine resolutions.[67]

Under the leadership of Georgian Dream, Georgia has signed an Association Agreement and a Free Trade Agreement with the European Union. In 2013, the party ruled out joining Eurasian Economic Union, instead opting to deepen cooperation with the European Union. In 2015, Georgia fullfiled all the conditions for its citizens be granted visa-free travel to the Schengen area, with the European Council and the European Parliament giving their approval in 2017. At the same time, the GD-led parliament enshrined pro-EU and pro-NATO foreign policy in the constitution. In January 2021, Georgia was preparing to formally apply for EU membership in 2024.[68][69] However, on 3 March 2022, Georgia submitted its membership application ahead of schedule, following the 2022 escalation of the Russia-Ukraine war.[70]

Georgian Dream coalition

Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia was the leading member of the Georgian Dream Coalition, which initially included six political parties of diverse ideological orientations.

Bera.[75][76]

Former constituent parties

Electoral performance

Georgian Dream electoral billboard, Tbilisi, August 2016

Parliamentary

Election Leader Votes % Seats +/– Position Status
2012[a] Bidzina Ivanishvili 1,184,612 54.97
85 / 150
 new 1st Government
2016 Giorgi Kvirikashvili 857,394 48.65
115 / 150
 Increase 30 Steady 1st Government
2020 Giorgi Gakharia 928,004 48.22
90 / 150
 Decrease 25 Steady 1st Government

Presidential

Election year Candidate Results
# of overall votes % of overall vote
2013 Giorgi Margvelashvili 1,012,569 62.12 (#1)
2018 endorsed Salome Zourabichvili

Local

Election Votes % Seats +/– Position
2014 719 431 50.82
1,370 / 2,088
 new 1st
2017 838 154 55.81
1,610 / 2,058
 Increase 240 Steady 1st
2021 824 755 46.75
1,358 / 2,068
 Decrease 252 Steady 1st

Presidents of Georgia from Georgian Dream

Name From To
Giorgi Margvelashvili 17 November 2013 16 December 2018

Prime Ministers of Georgia from Georgian Dream

Name From To
Bidzina Ivanishvili 25 October 2012 20 November 2013
Irakli Gharibashvili
 20 November 2013 30 December 2015
Giorgi Kvirikashvili 30 December 2015 13 June 2018
Mamuka Bakhtadze 20 June 2018 2 September 2019
Giorgi Gakharia 8 September 2019 18 February 2021
Irakli Gharibashvili
 22 February 2021 29 January 2024
Irakli Kobakhidze 8 February 2024 Present

Leadership

The party is led by the Chair, who is the leader of the party's political council. The current chairman is Irakli Garibashvili.

Party chairs

Notable people

  • Paata Mkheidze (2016–2020), deputy of the Parliament of Georgia, constituency No. 29[77]

Notes

  1. ^ As part of Georgian Dream coalition

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External links

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