There seems to be very little similarity between the main rivals in the Georgian electoral campaign – the United National movement of Mikhail Saakashvili and the Georgian Dream of Bidzina Ivanishvili. They should be like fire and water. But they both want to have a bipolar system that can bring them, if not victory at the parliamentary elections then at least a majority of seats in the legislative body.
Indeed, most of the voters choose between the two rivals and some experts see in this the first signs of a two-party system, such as exists in the US, the UK and Germany. But there it took a long time to create this system, while Georgia is only making its first steps towards democracy and so far the power has not been changed in a democratic way. Neither the UNM, nor Georgian Dream are real parties,but rather broad coalitions of public forces united by a temporary similarity of interests.
However, Georgia has organizations that do not belong to the political extremes but rather to the center in its classical understanding. And, however weak they are at the moment compared to the two mammoths, in the future when the middle class develops, they will be the basis of the political spectrum with a strong center and weak extremes. But first they need to survive the struggle of the mammoths and get their place under the political sun. Only two political parties stand a chance here – the New Right and the Christian Democrats. According to the last polls, the Christian Democrats are the closest to the 5% mark to get 10 seats in the future parliament.
The Christian Democrats are among the youngest parties in Georgia. It was created in 2007 by former journalists of Imedi, who had to leave the profession because the authorities accused them of cooperating with those preparing a coup d’état. Imedi belonged to the billionaire Badri Patarkatseshvili. After the events of November 7, when the special forces of the Interior Ministry dispersed the opposition rally at Rustaveli Avenue, a criminal case was started against Patarkatsishvili, and Imedi was temporarily closed. The company soon changed owners, but the leader of the journalists, Georgy Targamadze, suggested that he and his colleagues should change their profession and try to realize ther values in a different way. This is how the Christian Democratic movement was created. Apart from 39-year old Targamadze, it included journalists Levan Vepkhvadze, Giorgi Akhvlediniani and Magda Anikashvili. Later they were joined by one of the most famous TV stars, Inga Grigolia.
At first nobody paid attention to the endeavors of the journalists – there were quite a few parties in the country. Yet the Christian Democrats had a surprisingly good start and took third place in the parliamentary elections of 2008, creating a small but influential faction. The main political powers were already then accusing the centrists of collaboration with their rivals. This tradition continues today, when Georgian Dream of Ivanishvili took the place of the united opposition forces. The leaders of the young party have enough strength to resist attacks from both sides.
The success of Georgy Targamadze and his comrades is connected not only with their relatively young age, excellent language and presentation skills, professionalism in promoting and PR-technologies, but to a larger extent the fact that society is tired of extremes and the desire of the emerging middle classes to find a protector of their interests. This resource became the engine of the Christian Democrats. Whether they will manage to do more than just overcome the 5% barrier will be clear in the very near future. Even if they do not get into parliament, they will remain an important third power in their country. The Christian Democrats' support addressed social policy and state support for the poor, particularly in public health issues. Their motto corresponds to the philosophy of the right-centrist European parties: “Studies for children, work for parents, respect for the old”. The Christian Democrats speak for the growth of the Orthodox Church's influence in Georgia and potentially proclaiming Orthodoxy the official religion in Georgia. In foreign policy the party is Western-oriented (as are most of the political movements in the country), supporting Euroatlantic integration, meaning joining NATO and the EU as the only guarantee of democratic development and the security of the country.
One could think that “centrism” would mean a softer opposition to Russian and a milder attitude towards the NATO, and declaration of a more neutral position and an attempt to have a dialogue with Moscow. But this is one of the specific features of political life in Georgia: unlike most European centrist parties, Georgian political discourse covers only internal policy and rejects questions of foreign policy. Probably because, so far, nobody sees any alternative to the current course or any point in changing it.
Georgy Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi, Exclusively for VK
