In an interview with Caucasus Watch, Giorgi Gakharia, leader of the “Gakharia for Georgia” party, said the EU can exert effective pressure on the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) regime by maintaining Georgia’s candidate status while questioning the government’s legitimacy and conditioning further engagement on democratic reforms, the release of political prisoners, and new elections.
Gakharia emphasized that despite growing anti-European propaganda, EU integration remains a unifying national aspiration for most Georgians. He accused GD of viewing European integration as a threat to its grip on power, citing its aversion to transparency, accountability, and inclusive governance.
“GD’s alliance with Hungary’s Fidesz and Viktor Orbán is both cynical and strategic—it mimics Orbán’s authoritarian playbook while preserving a façade of pro-European engagement to deceive both domestic and international audiences,” he said.
Gakharia also criticized GD’s stance on the Russia-Ukraine war, calling it morally bankrupt and aligned with Kremlin narratives. “Their conspiracy-driven rhetoric blames the West for Russia’s aggression and frames Western allies as a threat, rather than partners. This posture is not realism—it’s reckless and undermines Georgia’s security and sovereignty,” he stated.
He warned that GD’s strategy of combining authoritarianism at home with open financial ties to the West allows it to consolidate power while benefiting from unregulated capital flows.
Reaffirming his pro-European stance, Gakharia said: “The EU’s response to Georgia’s situation presents both a challenge and an opportunity. If it ties engagement to real democratic benchmarks, it can curb autocracy while preserving the promise of a European future.”
