Republican Party Stresses its Moderate Credentials

Republican Party has distanced itself form radical rhetoric voiced by the nine-party opposition coalition about “inevitability of people’s rebellion” in case the May 21 parliamentary elections are rigged.

“You have asked [referring to a TV anchor] earlier: would you [the Republicans] support people’s rebellion?” Davit Usupashvili, the Republican Party leader, said while speaking at a late-night political talk show, Primetime, aired by Rustavi 2 TV on April 10. “But we are not putting this [question] this way. We will not let people rebellion happen in this country; we will not let civil war in this country; we will not let break up of war in Abkhazia, Tskhinvali or in any other part of Georgia. We will spare no efforts to help the country move forward and do you know why? Because we want this country for the people and the people does not want rebellion, war, struggle, endless scandals, televised fist-fighting; the people simply want to work for its future.”

Usupashvili’s these remarks, however, were in contrast with his earlier statement about the issue made on January 22: “I will put it bluntly. A people’s rebellion is inevitable if the upcoming parliamentary elections are held in the same way that the presidential one was held.”

The TV talk show on Rustavi 2 TV on April 10 was fully dedicated to presentation of the Republican Party ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections. The party, which celebrates its 30th anniversary on May 21, said it had an ambition “to come into power.”

The party has also named some of its potential cabinet members it planned to nominate in case of victory in the upcoming elections. MP Natsvlishvili, who was a deputy security minister before his resigned in 2003, Republican Party leader Davit Usupashvili said, was a potential minister of interior or chief of security service. Natsvlishvili said that his and the party’s major goal in this context was to “depoliticize” law enforcement and security structures. MP Ivliane Khaindrava was presented as a potential foreign minister, who said that Europe should be Georgia’s “major foreign policy vector.” MP Levan Berdzenishvili was presented as a potential education minister, who said that 5% of country’s GDP should go into the education system.