“Georgian Dream” Accuses President of Bias in Favor of “Radical” Opposition
A few days prior to the President’s visit to Brussels, the ruling party – “Georgian Dream” echoed Salome Zurabishvili’s recent criticism of the government and accused her of displaying “political bias” in support of the “agenda of radical opposition forces.”
“Mrs. Salome Zurabishvili’s recent actions are characterized by extreme non-objectivity and political bias, which is grossly contradictory to the function of a non-partisan constitutional official,” the ruling party said in a statement released on May 29, which also stressed that the President’s statements over the past two years “are perceived and evaluated negatively, first and foremost by that part of Georgian society that supported her in the 2018 presidential elections on the basis of our call”.
According to the ruling party’s statement, Salome Zurabishvili was supported in the 2018 presidential elections with the expectation that she would “properly perform the function of the non-partisan president in the parliamentary system of government.” “We believed that a non-partisan woman, a descendant of the famous figures of the First Republic of Georgia… would be the best candidate for this mission,” stated the “Georgian Dream”.
The ruling party also emphasizes that during the election of the President, the leadership of “Georgian Dream” “clearly explained” to Salome Zurabishvili that despite their support in the elections, she should have no obligation to them, because the goal of the ruling party was to “properly establish the non-partisan institution of the President of Georgia in the parliamentary system of government”.
According to the statement of “Georgian Dream”, despite the fact that President Zurabishvili “chose a different path”, their position is to refrain from criticizing the President “as a matter of principle” in order not to contribute to the “deterioration of the institution of the presidency”. “We, as the ruling party, have a special responsibility to protect the highest constitutional institutions of Georgia, including the institution of the President of Georgia”.
“In the circumstances when the President of Georgia loses legitimacy in the eyes of the part of society that supported her in the 2018 elections, and does not gain legitimacy in the part of society that declared her a traitor and a resident in 2018, it is our duty to preserve the minimal legitimacy of Mrs. Salome Zurabishvili to exercise her presidential powers during the remaining year and a half of her term,” the ruling party declared.
In conclusion, “Georgian Dream” expresses the hope that “Salome Zurabishvili will not enter into an even more intense confrontation with the majority of the Georgian society. The “Georgian Dream” is ready to provide maximum assistance to the President of Georgia in order not to deepen the confrontation with the people”.
The declaration of the “Georgian Dream” was preceded by President Salome Zurabishvili’s repeated criticism of the government for its anti-Western policies. One of the most recent cases was the May 26 Independence Day event. In addition, President Zurabishvili reprimanded the “Georgian Dream” government for violating protocol at the Diaspora Day forum on May 27.
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