Sitting Alone, GD Unanimously Votes in Kobakhidze Cabinet

GD Cabinet members attending the Parliament session on November 28th, source: screengrab from Parliament's Live

On November 28, the rump Parliament, which currently seats only the Georgian Dream (GD) MPs, gave Irakli Kobakhidze’s proposed cabinet a vote of confidence with 84 votes in favor and none against. No questions were asked from the floor. “We have the real top brains in the government team,” Kobakhidze proclaimed.

Three opposition coalitions that passed the 5% threshold in the October 26 elections have renounced their MP mandates over claims of massive vote-rigging. The fourth party refuses to enter the chamber and also refuses its legitimacy. Legal experts argue that the Parliament was constituted illegally as the President’s challenge of the election results at the Constitutional Court remains pending.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, after presenting the government program “Only with Peace, Dignity, Prosperity to Europe,” introduced his cabinet to the chamber. The Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Justice, and the Environment were newly appointed. Others served in the previous cabinet.

Kobakhidze highlights priorities

“Our election slogan was ‘Only with Peace, Dignity, Prosperity to Europe,’ and this is also the name of our government’s program. Certainly, our goal is to maintain peace in our country firmly. Certainly, our goal is to defend our national interests with dignity, including obtaining EU membership with dignity. And certainly, our goal is to enhance prosperity for our country,” Kobakhidze said.

He added: “Dignity comes first, and dignity is the main guarantee that we will defend our interests.”

He said the road to the EU would be “difficult” and that his cabinet intends to consider only the EU “conditions” that “do not contradict the national interests of our country” and do not infringe on “dignity.”

The Georgian Dream party habitually references “dignity” to highlight the areas where the EU limits Georgia’s “sovereignty” (such as criticism of civic rights limitations) or the values they claim are diverging from the Georgian traditions – such as gay community rights. 

Building on this topic, Kobakhidze said, “The EU must also prove that it respects our dignity,” arguing, “Of course, we also have to prove to the EU that we are acting honestly, just as the EU has to prove to us that it is duly respecting the peace, dignity, and prosperity of our country,” he concluded. When it comes to prosperity, he said, “We saw the resolution by the European Parliament where they demand imposing sanctions [on Russia], which would, naturally, mean the collapse of our country’s economy. In the future, we must see that such a thing is not repeated.”

Further on Russia, Kobakhidze said, “When it comes to Georgia-Russia relations, of course, our policy would be pragmatic. It is one of the main instruments for maintaining peace and protecting our country’s strategic interests. Peaceful resolution of the conflict between Georgia and Russia will remain a priority. Certainly, we have our red lines, which are linked to the de-occupation of our territories.” He said that “reaching this objective depends on global trends and processes in the region.”

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