Today the chairman of the faction ‘Georgian Dream — Industrialists’, which is a part of the ruling coalition, Gogi Topadze, aimed a regular set of charges against the head of the Defense Ministry and representative of the Republican Party, Tina Khidasheli, who is also a member of the Dream team.
At a press conference he repeated his thesis that in the past year she participated in the fraud in the interim parliamentary elections in Sagarejo. This time the deputy explained how the rigging of the voting results was carried out. "She got it wrong when she brought 527 soldiers to Sagarejo. The month before the elections a meeting with Thea Tsulukiani was held in connection with this issue and protocol number three was created, according to which this polling station should not be opened. And we distributed those 25 people to other polling stations. After this, the Minister of Defense took everything into her own hands and brought 527 people to Sagarejo from all over Georgia. In practice, these people decided the fate of the election results. The companions of Khidasheli are trying to justify all this in vain, Sputnik-Georgia cites Topadze.
Such statements by the leader of the ‘Georgian Dream — Industrialists’ faction have previously been criticized by a number of representatives of the ruling coalition. In the near future Georgian Dream intends to gather a meeting of the political council, which will assess this actions of Gogi Topadze.
Vestnik Kavkaza found out the opinions of experts of how deep the contradictions revealed as a result of this scandal are in the camp of the ruling coalition, and how far-reaching their consequences may be.
As noted in an interview with our correspondent, the head of the Center for Security Studies and International Relations, Nika Chitadze, the conflict in Georgian Dream is primarily associated with ideological and foreign policy disagreements, with views about the foreign policy orientation of Georgia.
"We know that Gogi Topadze adopted a more pro-Russian orientation than the Republican Party. Tina Khidasheli, of course, adheres to a pro-Western Euro-Atlantic course for Georgia. In addition, I think that this is due to the fact that Georgian Dream is no longer considering Gogi Topadze as a candidate on the future lists of candidates within the Georgian Dream coalition,’’ the analyst said.
"I think, perhaps, that not only Gogi Topadze, but also the political party ‘Industry Will Save Georgia’ will not be included in the coalition. It is not widely known to the public, although we can say that this is not excluded, because Gogi Topadze made the radical statements not only against the Republicans, but also against Ms. Khidasheli, the Berdzenishvili brothers and others. And maybe the reason for this is some envy with regard to the Republicans, and he no longer hides his antipathy to the Republican party, because he is well aware that his political party will not be included in the Georgian Dream coalition, and he has no chance of getting into the Georgian parliament," the expert said, noting that Topadze himself has repeatedly stated his readiness to leave the parliament of Georgia, although he is still in his post.
Answering the question of what consequences these statements might have, the head of the Center for Security Studies and International Relations said that such attacks do not indicate that Georgian Dream is a single political coalition.
"At one time, of course, the leaders of Georgian Dream made a mistake by including in the coalition six political entities that did not adhere to a particular political ideology or political views. And accordingly, of course, we need to talk about changes in Georgian Dream, maybe even the possibility of its collapse, because those supporters, those who are not in the political coalition or in the political party Georgian Dream, some of them have the view that each political party should participate in the elections not on behalf of the coalition, but on behalf of their political parties. For example, one of the leaders of Georgian Dream, Mechiauri, is the chairman of the Finance and Budget Committee of the Parliament of Georgia, and he says that it would be better if each political party in the coalition at this stage would take part in the parliamentary elections independently. And the second question is, if the political party Georgian Dream will participate in the elections independently, will it take first place? They will rely on factors and financial support from their spiritual leader comrade Ivanishvili,’’ Nika Chitadze concluded.
In turn, the political scientist Giorgi Nodia thinks that the Republicans and the ‘industrialists’ headed by Topadze always stood at ideologically opposite poles.
"It was said that the Georgian Dream coalition is very variegated and combines very different groups and different people, but still somehow these contradictions were never displayed in such a sharp form. But now Mr. Topadze, for some personal reasons, is more inclined to tell the plain truth as he understands it, and speaks openly and directly. Previously, he was distinguished by the fact that he more openly expressed his thoughts when they were at odds with the general principles of the interests of Georgian Dream. For example, when he openly criticized the policy of joining NATO, although it is the official position of Georgian Dream. So in that sense, he always, as now, as before, is distinguished by harshness and makes no secret that he does not support the pro-Western course of Georgia and those politicians who represent it. It is quite natural that Tina Khidasheli has become the object of his criticism,’’ the expert suggested.
As for the implications that these statements could have, the analyst pointed out that they increase the tensions in the coalition: "It is very effective during the pre-election time, when the new lists of candidates are compiled, and the balance of forces within the coalition is defined again in new terms. In this context, this tension and such statements add fuel to the fire in the sense that it is a tension which is already there, exacerbated in this pre-election situation. It is expected that the referee, and it is recognized by everyone that the coalition has its referee, it is Mr. Ivanishvili, will put everything in its place," Giorgi Nodia summed up.
