Is Georgian Dream losing majority?

The intensity of the political conflict in Georgia that started in the Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia ruling party over the bill setting criteria for the appointment of judges to the country's Supreme Court, increased.

Today, former head of Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee Eka Beselia and deputy Levan Gogichaishvili have quit the party, as a result of which the party may lose a constitutional majority eventually.

The media suggests that the Georgian Dream may lose Gedevan Popkhadze and Beka Natsvlishvili in the future.

At the same time, the ruling team's remaining members believe that the loss of the constitutional majority will not become a tragedy. For example, First Vice-Speaker of the Parliament Tamar Chugoshvili said that she regretted Beselia’s decision, but according o her, the constitutional majority "is absolutely unnecessary for any authorities."

The head of the Institute of Management Strategy, Petre Mamradze, speaking with Vestnik Kavkaza, said that even if the Georgian Dream loses its constitutional majority, it will only improve the political situation in the country. "The constitutional majority, while the legitimacy among the population is largely lost, there is no support, hasn't done anything good. So, I think this is a healthy process," the expert noted.

He recalled that such democratic discussions were impossible when President Mikhail Saakashvil was in office. "Everything was decided by Saakashvili and his two associates. In Georgia it should be welcomed that the society did not like the candidates because of their reputation," Mamradze added.

At the same time, the exit of Beselia and Gogichishvili from the Georgian Dream, according to the expert, does not mean a split in the ruling party. "Mrs. Beselia does not enjoy the respect of the people and the parliament to the extent that her departure could cause a split. Moreover, everyone knew that they planned to gently 'dismiss' her from the post with promotion to a position where she would not have those levers," the expert recalled.

He also suggested that the opposition would hardly be able to derive substantial benefits from the current situation.

A member of the ‘Expert Club of Georgia’ Vakhtang Maisaya does not have the same assessment as Mamradze. According to him, it is not just about the loss of the constitutional majority by the Georgian Dream, but  about the party's existence in general. "In fact, the current Georgian Dream becomes the late version of the Union of Citizens of Georgia [Eduard Shevardnadze's party, which won the elections in 1995, but later split into three opposing factions - VK]," the expert noted.

He also added that the split will only get stronger in the future. He added that a major political crisis is coming in the country, since the opposition is no longer able to take advantage of the split in the Georgian Dream because of its own weakness.