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Georgian Dream (political coalition)

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Georgian Dream
ქართული ოცნება
AbbreviationGD
LeaderBidzina Ivanishvili (2012-2013)
Irakli Garibashvili (2013-2015)
Giorgi Kvirikashvili (2015-2016)
FounderBidzina Ivanishvili
Founded21 February 2012
Dissolved31 March 2016
HeadquartersTbilisi, Georgia
IdeologyBig tent[1]
Pro-Europeanism[2]
Factions:
Liberalism[3]
National conservatism[4]
Protectionism[5]
Neutralism[6]
Political positionSyncretic
Former constituent partiesGeorgian Dream (GD)
Our Georgia – Free Democrats (OG – FD)
Republican Party of Georgia (RPG)
Conservative Party of Georgia (CPG)
Industry Will Save Georgia (IWSG)
National Forum (NF)
Supported by:
Greens Party of Georgia (GPG)
People's Party (PP)
Social Democrats for the Development of Georgia (SDDG)
Colors  Blue and   Amber

Georgian Dream (Georgian: ქართული ოცნება, romanized: kartuli otsneba) was a catch-all political alliance in Georgia formed around Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia (GD - DG) in opposition to the then-ruling United National Movement (UNM) party. The coalition was formed in 2012 with it winning the parliamentary election held in the same year. The alliance was dissolved in 2016 after which GD - DG went on to win 2016 and 2020 parliamentary elections independently.

The coalition initially included six political parties of diverse ideological orientations.[7][8] The parties ranged from pro-market and pro-Western liberals to nationalists and protectionists, united in their dislike of Mikheil Saakashvili and UNM.[9][10] The alliance was further supported by 3 other parties who while formally not a part of the coalition ran their candidates on Georgian Dream list.

History

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The opposition

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Formation

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Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder of the Georgian Dream party and coalition

United National Movement led by Mikheil Saakashvili had become increasingly unpopular due to numerous scandals, alleged abuse of power, and controversial economic reforms.[11] The Georgian Dream coalition was founded by Bidzina Ivanishvili on 21 February 2012, as a vehicle for the newly established Georgian Dream movement to unite the opposition and challenge the ruling UNM in the parliamentary election of the same year.[12][13]

Republican Party, led by David Usupashvili, and Our Georgia – Free Democrats, led by Irakli Alasania, had been outlined by Ivanishvili as his future coalition partners in November 2011.[14] In January 2012, Ivanishvili brokered partnership with the Conservative Party, while the National Forum announced its alliance with GD-DG on 6 February.[15][16] Moreover, some parties, such as People's Party, Social Democrats for the Development of Georgia and Greens Party, also fielded their candidates on the coalition's ticket without formally joining the coalition.[17] In April, Industry Will Save Georgia also joined the alliance.[18]

2012 parliamentary election

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On 27 May 2012, in a rally held in downtown Tbilisi that has been claimed to have been attended by 80,000 people, Ivanishvili announced the start of the election campaign.[19] The rally is one of the largest public demonstrations in the country's post-independence history.[20] In the subsequent months, rallies were held in other major cities in Georgia, including Kutaisi, Zugdidi, and Gori.[21][22][23]

The Georgian Dream's campaign surged after the Gldani prison scandal, which highlighted widespread torture in Georgian prisons under Saakashvili's administration.[24][25] In response to GD rallies that regularly attracted tens of thousands of people, the government responded by staging a rival mass event.[26][27]

The coalition successfully challenged the ruling UNM party in the 2012 parliamentary election.[28] It won this election with 54.97% of the vote, gaining 85 seats in parliament. Out of the 85 seats, GD-DG and the non-coalition parties running on its list got 47 seats, Free Democrats - 11, Republican Party - 9, while Conservative Party, Industry Will Save Georgia, and National Forum each got 6 seats.[29]

In Tbilisi Widespread celebrations were held in support of Georgian Dream. The next day, Saakashvili accepted the results as legitimate, while at the same time noting that he remained deeply opposed to the coalition.[30] Saakashvili pledged to support the constitutional process of forming a new government and peaceful transfer of power.[31]

Coalition government (2012-2016)

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Davit Usupashvili, the speaker of the parliament from 2012 to 2016

On 22 October 2012 the Georgian Parliament elected the leader of the Republican Party, Davit Usupashvili as its new speaker.[32] Three days later Ivanishvili was voted in as the country's new prime minister, with 88 votes in favor to 54 against.[33] The most ministries in the 21-member cabinet went to the Georgian Dream party, while the Free Democrats party was represented in the government by four ministers: Tea Tsulukiani as the Minister of Justice, Irakli Alasania as the Minister of Defense and Vice Premier, Alexi Petriashvili as the State Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, and Kote Surguladze as the State Minister on the Diaspora Issues. The Republican Party was represented by Paata Zakareishvili as the State Minister for Reintegration, while the National Forum was represented by the Davit Darakhvelidze as the Minister of Internally Displaced Persons.[34]

Being a diverse and eclectic coalition, the Georgian Dream parliamentary majority diversified into several parliamentary factions, with each constituent party in the coalition having its own parliamentary group within the majority: "Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia", "Georgian Dream-Republicans", "Georgian Dream-Conservatives", "Georgian Dream-National Forum", "Georgian Dream-Industrialists", and "Georgian Dream-Free Democrats".[35]

Ivanishvili government

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Main article: Ivanishvili government

Georgia, under Ivanishvili's leadership, retained most of the reforms passed during Saakashvili's presidency. Georgia maintained the free market economic model, while also establishing a functional social safety net.[36] During Ivanishvili's tenure as the prime minister, the government increased social spending.[37] In 2013, the government increased pensions, social assistance allowances and education spending.[37] Georgian Dream introduced the Universal Healthcare Program (UHP).[38] The reform made state-sponsored health insurance available on a mass scale.[39] In June 2013, the parliament adopted a new Labour Code in line with International Labour Organization (ILO) standards.[37]

The government implemented prison reform. During the previous administration, which pursued a zero-tolerance policy, the prisoner numbers have shot up from over 6,000 in 2003 to 24,000 in 2012. The prisons were overcrowded and prisoners were subject to systematic torture. The new government conceded fundamental problems in the prisons system and promised to carry out a reform. The mortality rate in prisons considerably went down and prison healthcare was overhauled. The government liberalized criminal policies. The practice of cumulative sentencing ended in April 2013.[40]

The government faced a challenge of tackling legacy of abuse committed by the former government officials in connection to the Gldani prison scandal. More than 20 000 complaints were filed by citizens and inmates with the Prosecutor's Office in connection to injustices of past administration, including 4 000 cases of alleged torture or ill-treatment. Thirty-five officials who had served under the previous government were charged with criminal offences with accusations ranging from embezzlement to abuse of power and torture. Former Prime Minister Vano Merabishvili, governor of Kakheti Zurab Tchiaberashvili and Head of Penitentiary Department Bacho Akhalaia were among the ones who were arrested.[41]

In December 2012, the Parliament passed the Amnesty Bill. On 28 December, the Parliament overturned the President's vote, for the first time in Georgia's history. President Saakashvili still refused to sign the bill, after which the Chairman of Parliament Davit Usupashvili signed the bill into the law on 12 January 2013. The amnesty envisaged full exemption from punishment, or reduction of prison sentence, including by one-fourth to almost all the prisoners who did not fall under other forms of amnesty. 190 inmates were also recognized as the political prisoners.[42] With the main phase of amnesty being completed by March 2013, the Georgia's prison population was reduced by half compared to January 2012 with a release of almost 8000 prisoners.[43]

Ivanishvili's government took steps to improve relations with Russia. However, since the Georgian Dream coalition opposed the restoration of formal diplomatic and political relations with Russia until the disputes with Russia over Abkhazia and South Ossetia were resolved, a Georgian diplomat Zurab Abashidze was appointed as a Special Representative of the Georgian government to mend ties outside formal diplomatic relations by meeting periodically with his Russian counterpart Grigory Karasin on neutral ground in Prague.[44] Thus, diplomatic relations between Russia and Georgia remained formally broken (a reality since the 2008 August war between the two countries). In December 2012, Russian and Georgian representatives met in Prague and had the first two-way discussions since the war.[45] The "Prague Format" of Russia-Georgia relations was not meant to facilitate the resolution of disputes regarding Abkhazia and South Ossetia, as both sides remained at odds over these issues.[46] Abashidze emphasized that the question of its territorial integrity is Georgia's "red line" on which no concession is conceivable.[47] The Prague Format was rather focused on a pragmatic process on matters of mutual interest that are unrelated to the breakaways, such as economics and humanitarian issues.[46] However, as the Georgian government also took steps towards improving relations with the European Union, which Ivanishvili described as a foreign policy priority,[48] in February 2013, Tamar Beruchachvili, the Deputy State Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Georgia, stated that Georgia had no plans to join the Eurasian Economic Union,[49] which Fule has warned Ukraine would be incompatible with the agreements with the EU.[50]

People's Party withdrawal

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Already in February 2013, Koba Davitashvili, the leader of People's Party, announced the withdrawal from the Georgian Dream coalition, citing the "elite" making all decisions within coalition and its inability to act as a united team.[51]

2013 presidential election

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The 2013 presidential election brought up some contentions within coalition. Although the 2010 constitutional reforms, which went into effect in 2013, largely reduced the role of president, holding the office was still important for the coalition for prime minister's smooth rule. Although Civil Georgia reported in December 2012 that Vakhtang Khmaladze was Ivanishvili's preferred candidate, the Free Democrats leader Irakli Alasania stated that it was too early for the coalition to decide on this issue. However, his party actually stated that it might field Alasania himself as a separate candidate. Some reporters suggested that the coalition might field several candidates in the election.[52][53]

Ultimately, the coalition decided on a common candidate in May 2013, with Ivanishvili presenting Giorgi Margvelashvili, the education minister.[54] In October 2013, Margvelashvili, with Ivanishvili's backing, managed to secure a landslide victory in the election, garnering 62% of votes. Following this victory, Ivanishvili announced his intention to resign as Prime Minister. On 20 November 2013, Ivanishvili resigned as Prime Minister. He was succeeded by Interior Minister Irakli Garibashvili, whom he had announced as his successor on 2 November 2013.[55]

Garibashvili government

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Main article: First Garibashvili government

Upon taking office, Garibashvili said that he would make no changes to the cabinet. He named a chief of Tbilisi police department, Alexandre Tchikaidze, as his replacement on the post of the Interior Minisiter, with this being a "first time for many years" when a non-political figure was named on this position.[56] Garibashvili and his cabinet won a vote of 93–19[57] in the Parliament of Georgia on 20 November 2013. At heated parliamentary debates with the United National Movement minority during the vote, Garibashvili promised economic improvement and stressed that Georgia's EU and NATO aspiration would remain his foreign priorities.[28]

During Garibashvili's tenure, a ceremony on the initialling of the EU-Georgia Association Agreement by the Georgian Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton was held at the Eastern Partnership summit on 29 November 2013.[58][59] It was formally signed on 27 June 2014,[60] and has been fully ratified by Georgia and all EU member states by January 2016.[61] A second agreement, governing the country's involvement in EU crisis management operations, was also signed.[62]

On 2 May 2014, the Parliament approved an anti-discrimination law, banning all forms of discrimination. It took effect upon publication, on 7 May 2014.[63][64][65] The parliament voted unanimously to pass the bill, with 115 votes in favour and zero against. The adoption of the anti-discrimination law was recommended by the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) Country Progress Report for Georgia and it became a prerequisite for finalizing the Visa Liberalization Action Plan between Georgian and the European Union.[66]

The conservative groups and the Georgian Orthodox Church voiced their opposition to the bill, especially the part which specified sexual orientation and gender identity as grounds for prohibited discrimination, with the some conservative activists and the priests saying that the bill would "enshrine perversion" in the Georgian society. In response to conservative criticism of the anti-discrimination law, Georgian Dream proposed to put a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, despite an existing implicit ban in the Civil Code.[67] Prime Minister Garibashvili said that the new anti-discrimination law exemplified the "long Georgian tradition of tolerance", however, he also noted that the marriage is a voluntary unity of a man and a woman. Prime Minister said that a constitutional amendment was necessary to avoid confusion in society that the anti-discrimination law granted any new rights or privileges to any group and that therefore it would lead to same-sex marriages in the future. He cited the European Union members such as Croatia and Latvia which constitutionally define marriage as a unity of a man and a woman, and further noted that making such amendment "is a discretionary right of our nation". The proposal was endorsed by the political council of the Georgian Dream coalition.[68]

Free Democrats withdrawal

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The major cracks within the ruling coalition began to appear in 2014, with some observers describing the Georgian Dream coalition as a "fragile unity" already in January 2013, predicting that it would dissolve either because of disagreements over distribution of government positions, foreign policy differences, or the receding threat of the United National Movement returing to power.[52]

In November 2014, the Free Democrats party announced about their withdrawal from coalition, a day after Prime Minister Garibashvili's decision to dismiss Irakli Alasania from his post of Defence Minister.[69] This led to the emergence of a new opposition faction in the Georgian parliament and a party-switching by several MPs between the ruling coalition and the new Free Democrats faction.[70] The defection of MPs from the Georgian Dream coalition initially led to it losing a parliamentary majority. However, by 10 November, 12 independent majoritarian MPs, initially elected on UNM's behalf but later quitting the party following its defeat in the 2012 election, joined the Georgian Dream coalition, which led to its ranks increasing to 87 representatives in the parliament. Thus, as a result of crisis the Georgian Dream actually managed to increase it representation in the parliament by four seats, although this result did not come up as a surprise for many observers as those independent MPs were usually supporting the Georgian Dream coalition, despite not being officially its members. Some of these new MPs joined the Georgian Dream coalition as a new faction "Independent Majoritarians-For Strong Regions", while others directly joined the faction controlled by the Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia party itself. The Free Democrats faction emerged with 8 representatives in the parliament.[35]

While two of three remaining Free Democrats ministers, namely State Minister for European Integration Alexi Petriashvili and Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze, Alasania's sister-in-law, announced about their resignation in a move to disassociate with the coalition, Justice Minister Thea Tsulukiani stated on 5 November that she had no intention to step down.[71] Alasania was replaced by the Georgian Dream candidate Mindia Janelidze and later the Republican Party candidate Tina Khidasheli in May 2015.[72][73]

Coalition dissolution (2015-2020)

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Kvirikashvili government

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In December 2015, the Georgian Dream party member Giorgi Kvirikashvili was nominated by the Georgian Dream coalition as new Prime Minister after Irakli Garibashvili announced about his resignation. Kvirikashvili and his incoming cabinet won the confidence vote in the Parliament with 86 votes to 28 on 30 December 2015. The only newcomer in the cabinet was Mikheil Janelidze as the Foreign Minister.[74]

Kvirikashvili's government focused on economic growth as well as strengthening relations with the West.[75] Kvirikashvili said that he would like to make Georgian–American relations "a backbone of regional stability, economic development, and democratization."[76] The European Commission recommended visa-free travel for the citizens of Georgia to the Schengen Area, with the European Council and the European Parliament giving the final approval in 2017.[77][78]

Describing himself as a "more of a centre-right politician", Kvirikashvili focused on attracting foreign investment and presented his vision of Georgia as a "stable democracy" with "open market" and "liberal economy".[79][80][80][81] One of the major reforms under his premiership was the so-called Estonian Tax model, which taxes a company's pay-out dividends but not its profits, in May 2016. The reform adopted the Estonian approach of making all businesses, except profit-sharing businesses, exempt from income tax, and encouraging the companies to reinvest their profits by making them no longer obliged to pay income tax unless they give dividends.[82] In 2017, the universal approach in healthcare was replaced with the targeted approach, with relatively full package being available only to the targeted and vulnerable groups, high-income individuals being mostly excluded from the programme, a limited package being available for medium-income individuals, while low-income individuals enjoying broader but also limited package.[83]

Kvirikashvili led a failed official attempt to resolve disputes with Russia over Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region through negotiations. On 9 March 2018, Kvirikashvili released an appeal to the Russian Federation, calling for "reasonable steps" from both sides for bringing the Georgia–Russia relations out of "a vicious circle". Prime Minister also added that Moscow's recognition of independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia had led the Georgia-Russia interstate relations to "a deadlock". He voiced his readiness to personally engage in the talks with Russian, Abkhazian and South Ossetian authorities, urging the Russian leadership to "take joint steps and resolve this difficult situation" to normalize the Georgia–Russia relations.[84]

On 4 April 2018, Kvirikashvili's government devised a new initiative for reintegration of Abkhazia and South Ossetia into Georgia. The new initiative, called "Step Towards a Better Future", rested on enhancing cooperation. These included legislative changes in Georgian Parliament to encourage trade and joint business initiatives with Abkhazian and South Ossetian residents, enhance educational opportunities for these residents in Georgia proper (as universities in separatist Abkhazia and South Ossetia do not enjoy international legitimacy), and create mechanisms simplifying access to the benefits and goods available to Georgia resulting from the country's European integration, such as visa waiver, free trade rights, and others.[85][86] The initiative was rejected by the Abkhaz and South Ossetian authorities.[87]

In May 2018, Kvirikashvili's government faced two waves of protests: one over police raids on nightclubs over alleged illegal drug trade, and another over perceived miscarriage of justice by the Prosecutor's Office of Georgia in the case involving killing of teenagers in a street knife-combat. On 31 May 2018, Georgia's Chief Prosecutor Irakli Shotadze resigned over the case, calling accusations against him "political vengeance" by the opposition.[88] On 1 June 2018, Prime Minister Irakli Kvirikashvili announced that the case would be transferred from the Prosecutor's Office to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for further investigation, and the creation of a special parliamentary fact-finding commission chaired by an opposition politician.[89]

The protests calling for drug liberalization were met by conservative, nationalist and fascist counter-protests against the "drug dealers and LGBT propagandists", with Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili saying that Georgia "is on the brink of civil war".[90] The Minister of Internal Affairs Giorgi Gakharia showed up in front of protesters on May 13 and apologized for alleged instances of police misconduct. He met the organizers of the protests and agreed to create two working groups. One group would work on the draft of a drug policy and another on the police raid and whether the individual law enforcers exceeded their powers or not. The actions of the minister caused negative reaction among the conservative public.[91]

2016 parliamentary election and defections

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Prior to the 2016 parliamentary election, it was announced in March 2016 by the formally five constituent parties of the Georgian Dream coalition that they would run separately in the upcoming election. Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili cited a "different reality" from that of 2012 election. At the same time, most parties voiced a desire to remain within the parliamentary majority until the election.[92] The National Forum left the Georgian Dream parliamentary majority in April 2016, while four other parties formally remaining in the majority group.[93] The Republican Party issued a statement, saying that they were willing to "carry burden of responsibility within the coalition government for some time along with PM Kvirikashvili and the team acting in line with his vision", but also stressed that it would not be possible in case some politicians in the coalition not in line with this vision would "continue to set political agenda".[92] The statement was also preceded by the verbal altercations between the members of the Industrialists and the Republican Party following the statements by the leader of Industrialists Gogi Topadze about negative role of international institutions such as World Bank, International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organization and a call for more "analytical" approach towards European Integration, his statement about President Margvelashvili alleging that he treated Georgian people "like downs", and an accusation against the Republican Party Minister Tina Khidasheli that she allegedly rigged preliminary parliamentary elections last year in Sagarejo. In response, the Republican Party implicitly called Topadze "Stalinist" and "anti-NATOoist".[92] While some members from the Georgian Dream party sided with Topadze, others (including some leading members) supported the Republicans and called Topadze's statements "damaging to the coalition's image".[94][95][96][97][97][98][92]

Despite the coalition formally falling apart, Kvirikashvili led the Georgian Dream party to a landslide victory in the 2016 Georgian parliamentary election, winning a constitutional majority of 115 seats out of 150.

Constitutional amendments

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Despite the fact that the coalition formally fell apart, some parties still maintained their ties with the Georgian Dream party through fielding their candidates to the Parliament on the Georgian Dream's ticket. Therefore, parties such as Social Democrats for the Development of Georgia, Greens Party of Georgia and Conservative Party of Georgia informally still remained in alliance with the Georgian Dream party. Therefore, following the election, they became part of parliamentary majority with the Georgian Dream party, and established their factions within the coalition: "Georgian Dream – Conservatives", "Georgian Dream – Social Democrats", and "Georgian Dream – Greens".[99][100]

Utilizing its supermajority, Georgian Dream made grand amendments to the constitution.[101] The constitutional commission, consisting of constitutional experts and representatives of seven political parties, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations and tasked with offering and reviewing proposals, was established on 15 December 2016.[102]

Much discussions revolved around proposed changes to the Georgia's political system. As intended by the Georgian Dream ruling party, the direct election of the president of Georgia was abolished, with the amendment transferring voting power to an electoral college composed of 300 parliamentarians and local and regional government representatives. The president maintained only symbolic powers, which was justified by the ruling party as a result of Georgia's transition to a parliamentary model of republic. The President Giorgi Margvelashvili voiced his opposition to the reform and outright boycotted the constitutional commission.[103] Besides the president's role, the reform also covered the electoral system, with a transition to the fully proportional representation by 2024 and abolition of representation for individual districts.[104] The amendment would also bar parties from forming electoral blocks and retain minimum threshold of 5% for entering parliament. The reform was criticized by the opposition parties and non-governmental organizations.[105]

The leader of Social Democrats faction, Gia Jorjoliani, presented an initiative, which included the expansion of social, economic, and cultural rights and an inclusion of a right to housing in the constitution. He justified the proposal by saying that Georgia should shift towards a "responsible state".[106] The constitutional reform enacted by the parliament included a poscript in the constitution that the state is responsible for the welfare of its citizens, such as in matters of health care, education, employment, and social security. In contrast to the previous version of the constitution, the new one would mention, among other rights, social fairness, equality, health, and social protection, and that the state would work for "equal participation of women and men in public and political life".[104]

The ruling party also pushed for the new constitution to define marriage as a "voluntary union of a man and a woman" and the ban on foreign ownership of the Georgian agricultural land. However, instead of citing conservative moral concerns, the party openly explained the amendment as a way to defang groups "stirring up homophobic and anti-Western sentiment." The amendment was opposed by the opposition parties and the non-governmental organizations.[107]

There were proposals which did not find approval from the commission. On 31 January, the leader of Social Democrats faction, Gia Jorjoliani, presented a proposal to the commission to revoke an article in Georgian constitution which prohibits a tax increase without government-mandated referendum. He was backed by the 25 organizations, including the Georgian Trade Union Confederation.[108] Jorjoliani stated that the provision significantly restricted the representative function of parliament, and cited the lack of "state responsibility for the socio-economic development and people-oriented policy", "a blind belief in the invisible hand" as a justification for the amendment. The proposal was criticized by the opposition, with the European Georgia party member Gia Chiaberashvili saying that the government was trying to "withdraw more money from the economy to increase its bonuses" and that this amendment would "kill the economy".[106] The amendment was not supported by the Kvirikashvili government either, which issued its own statement against the proposal.[109] However, the Finance Minister Dimitri Kumsishvili said that he did not have an unequivocal opinion on the provision, while noting that it was important to "attract investors", he also said that the article was "imperfect" in terms of exceptions to the general prohibition.[110] The parliament speaker and the member of the Georgian Dream party Irakli Kobakhidze, while noting that the provision indeed significantly restricted the parliament's sovereignty, emphasized the importance of the provision for the "high economic growth".[111] The proposal was met with opposition by the business groups, such as the International Chamber of Commerce, non-governmental organizations and, the United National Movement party. A number of left-wing groups, on the other hand, supported the proposal.[112] Ultimately, it was decided to keep the provision in place but only until 2029.[113]

The final draft of the new constitution was presented and approved by the constitutional commission on 22 April 2017. On 26 September 2017, the parliament passed the constitutional amendments with the third reading, with 117 lawmakers voting in favor and two against it. The opposition United National Movement and European Georgia parties did not take part in the vote.[114] President Margvelashvili initially vetoed the new constitution on 9 October, but after the parliament overrode the vote, he reluctantly signed the bill on 20 October, at the same time noting that "it is extremely difficult for me to sign this constitution".[115]

Bakhtadze government

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Main article: Bakhtadze government

Prime Minister Kvirikashvili suddenly resigned on 13 June 2018, claiming "disagreements over fundamental issues with the leader of the ruling party" as the reason for his resignation, including on economic issues according to one of the ruling party MPs.[116][117] The incoming government was formed by the Finance Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze, who won the parliamentary vote of confidence with 99 votes in favor to 6 against on 20 June 2018.[118] The cabinet was reconfirmed, with 101 votes in favor to 12 against, by the parliament on 14 July after the previously announced structural reforms in the cabinet ministries were implemented.[119]

Bakhtadze led a sweeping banking reform, having announced them already as the Finance Minister in April 2018. He claimed that the Georgian banks were impediment to the economy, saying that the banks were fueling over-indebtedness instead of helping the economy to grow. The changes to the banking sector announced by Bakhtadze included: replacing the effective annual interest rate ceiling on loans with 50% instead of 100%, calculating fines for late repayments of loans in a different way to make them lower, and making the banks no longer be able to seize property not listed as collateral in a loan agreement. Second part of Bakhtadze's reform included establishing a 'financial arm' of the Georgian Government which would enable it to spend up to 1% of GDP to support Georgian start-ups to address the imbalance in loans to Georgia's corporate sector.[120]

Following the brutal murder of Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili in dubious circumstances in the South Ossetian prison, on 27 June 2018, the Georgian government approved the "Otkhozoria–Tatunashvili List" to push for international sanctions against Abkhazian and South Ossetian individuals responsible for crimes committed against Georgians in separatist regions.[121][122]

Social Democrats withdrawal

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Already in February 2018, the Social Democrats announced about leaving the Georgian Dream party, with its leader Gia Jorjoliani criticizing "inert economic and social policy" as a reason. At the same time, Jorjoliani made it clear that they would be willing to cooperate with all parties, except the United National Movement and European Georgia.[123] In April 2018, the Social Democrats announced their intention to run independently in the upcoming parliamentary election, citing disagreements on economic, agricultural and pension reforms.[124] The disassociation with the Georgian Dream party was eventually formalized by March 2019, with some members becoming independent MPs, while the leader Jorjoliani and others joined the Alliance of Patriots faction in parliament. Jorjoliani cited general agreement on core issues with Alliance of Patriots, such as support for lower classes of population and patriotism.[125]

2019 protests

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On 20 June 2019, Parliament of Georgia hosted the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy, an organization set up by the Greek parliament to unite Orthodox Christian lawmakers worldwide. With both Russia and Georgia being members of the organization, the Russian delegation arrived to take part in the session in the Georgian parliament. The session was opened with a speech from Sergei Gavrilov, a Russian lawmaker from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, whilst sitting in the chair of the Head of Parliament.[126]

Opposition members said it was denigrating of Georgian sovereignty and completely unacceptable that Gavrilov presided over a session in Georgian parliament, as a representative of the occupying power with a history of casting anti-Georgia votes.[127] The opposition called for protests in front of the parliament building. Some representatives of Georgian Dream said the action of Gavrilov was a provocation and claimed the session should have been chaired by the Greek deputy Anastasios Nerantzis. Gavrilov however, insisted he was instructed by the protocol service of Georgian parliament.[128][129]

That same day, a large protest took place in front of Parliament, which was violently dispersed after the protesters tried to storm the parliament building. Some observers saw the protests as illustrating growing frustration with policy of normalization toward Russia.[46] Georgian Dream leader Ivanishvili said that the protesters' concerns over Gavrilov's assumption of seat were legitimate, but the situation was exploited by the opposition parties to storm the parliament building, thus the police measures were necessary to prevent a coup.[130] The concessions from Georgian Dream party included resignation of the chairman of parliament Irakli Kobakhidze, Georgian delegate Zakaria Kutsnashvili responsible for the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy session in Georgia, and some partial electoral amendments.[131][132][133]

Russia responded to the Georgian protests by imposing implicit sanctions on Georgian exports by increasing quality controls and closing air communications with Georgia starting from July 2019.[134][135]

Crisis in South Ossetia

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The June political crisis in Tbilisi was followed by a crisis on the de facto and unrecognized Georgia–South Ossetia border in August and September 2019. On 24–25 August 2019, tensions mounted as the Georgian police responded to the controversial Russian–South Ossetian demarcation works on an unrecognized border by placing a police checkpoint to prevent Russian and South Ossetian border guards from installing fencing on Georgian-controlled territory in the village of Chorchana. On 29 August, movement of military equipment and personnel was noticed near Chorchana. South Ossetian official Egor Kochiev demanded immediate dismantling of Georgian police checkpoint, otherwise warning that South Ossetia would take "legal measures". Georgian officials responded by saying that Georgia does not accepts "the language of ultimatums". The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia called on de facto South Ossetian authorities to stop provocations and unlawful demarcation works. On 29 August, South Ossetian officials abruptly left the meeting with Georgian government conducted in Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) format.[46]

In September, the South Ossetian authorities closed all crossing points with the Georgian government-controlled territory, aggravating humanitarian situation in the region and placing some 2,500 ethnic Georgians remaining in the Akhalgori district at a particular risk. The crossing points would only be reopened in August 2022.[136]

Representatives of Tbilisi, Moscow and Tskhinvali continued discussing the situation during a series of "technical meetings", but serious security challenges remained. Georgian officials have refused to have any talks about where exactly they would place the Georgian police checkpoints on Georgian-controlled territory.[46]

Gakharia government

[edit]

On 2 September 2019 Bakhtadze resigned from his position as prime minister. In a letter he published on Facebook he stated that he "decided to resign because I believe I have fulfilled my mission at this point."[137] With political atmosphere remaining hightened after the summer protests, Bidzina Ivanishvili, chairman of the Georgian Dream party, nominated Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia as a candidate for prime minister. As a man responsible for quelling the violent summer protests while being the Interior Minister, the opposition decried his appointment on the new post, demanding him to leave even the post of Interior Minister. Ivanishvili praised Gakharia for his ability to manage crises. On 6 September, at heated debate between opposition and Gakharia, the Prime Minister-designate promised to "end the United National Movement" and its provocations against the government. The opposition boycotted Gakharia's confirmation vote.[138][139]

Gakharia's administration soon faced a renewed political crisis in Georgia in November 2019 following a dispute over planned electoral amendments, when some individual members of the Georgian Dream party voted against the amendments outlined back in June 2019. Through a series of negotiations between the Georgian Dream and the opposition, the agreement was finally reached in March 2020, resolving the political crisis.[132] The number of single-mandate majoritarian districts was reduced for the 2020 parliamentary election and the threshold was lowered from 5% to 1%, to create a more proportional system.[140] Gakharia subsequently presided over the government's initially swift handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. It helped the Georgian Dream party regain the support it had lost in the aftermath of the 2019 Georgian protests.

Dissolution of the coalition

[edit]

The latest cracks in the coalition came to light during the 2019 protests, with the Conservative Party members leaving the Georgian Dream parliamentary majority following disagreements within party over the electoral reform in November 2019. Its leader Zviad Dzidziguri would later negatively assess the period of his party's association with the Georgian Dream party, saying that while being member of Georgian Dream, it lost ability to directly communicate with voters and its electoral base.[141]

This configuration left the Greens party the only one which maintained its ties with the Georgian Dream after 2019. However, prior to the 2020 parliamentary election, the Green Party announced that they would run separately in the election. Georgian Dream was able to re-create its 2016 performance in the popular vote but lost 25 seats under the amended electoral system, while neither Greens Party nor Conservative Party managed to win any seats in parliament on their own.[142]

Ideology

[edit]

The Georgian Dream coalition included parties of diverse ideological orientations.[143][144] The coalition was made up of parties ranging from pro-market and pro-western liberals to nationalists and protectionists, united in their dislike of Saakashvili and the United National Movement.[9][145] Two of the coalition members — Republican Party and Free Democrats — declared themselves as liberal parties with pro-Western foreign policy. At the same time, some members of the coalition did not support European integration or membership into NATO. National Forum and Industry Will Save Georgia opposed Georgia's NATO membership and advocated neutrality.[52] However, Ivanishvili himself expressed support for the EU and NATO membership and the coalition overally supported it.[146]

Georgian Dream's 12-point manifesto included among other policies, the development of liberal democracy, deepening integration with the European Union and NATO, and improvement of education and healthcare infrastructure.[147] The main goals of Georgian Dream were stated to be a revival of agriculture, lowering taxes on the poor, universal health insurance, normalization of relations with Russia and strengthening Georgia's ties to the EU and NATO.[148]

The coalition's style of governance has been characterized as technocratic populism, which describes an "ideology-free" governance strategy transcending right–left ideological divide by appealing to voters with a promise of "effective governance" through an all-purpose technocratic expertise garnered outside politics, in particular, the coalition leader Bidzina Ivanishvili's managerial skills earned as a business leader. Ivanishvili has been described as a central figure maintaining the unity of coalition through his leadership, with his popularity being based on his prior successful business career and his perceived all-purpose managerial skills to manage the country's governance system effectively. Instead of ideology, Ivanishvili's message to the public was to trust him personally because of his managerial skills and expertise. The coalition has often followed ideology-free zigzagging, in particular, when it first passed anti-discrimination law to satisfy the EU's requirements for visa liberalization, but later enshrined the traditional definition of marriage in the constitution to satisfy conservative votes, and also when it first introduced universal health care, but later reverted to non-universal system after the significant increase in public expenses.[149]

Foreign policy

[edit]

The constituent parties of the Georgian Dream held divergent views on the foreign policy issues. Two constituent members — Republican Party and Free Democrats — positioned themselves as pro-Western parties, while National Forum and the Industry Will Save Georgia officially opposed membership into NATO while not rejecting the EU integration, at the same time supporting Georgia to become militarily neutral country.[52]

The coalition's programme itself sought to combine the integration with the European Union and NATO with the balanced foreign policy with Russia. Upon taking office of prime minister in October 2012, Bidzina Ivanishvili promised to push for Georgia's integration with the West, while at same time combining it with a bid to restore relations with Russia.[48] One of the means for achieving this, explicitly mentioned in the coalition's programme, was for Georgia "not to be a point of contention between the West and Russia".[150] Ivanishvili explicitly described himself as "being in favor of balance" and for Georgia to be "interesting for everyone".[151]

As for disputes with Russia over Abkhazia's and South Ossetia's status, the coalition sought to find a strategy to return Abkhazia and South Ossetia under Georgia's sovereignty in negotiations rather than confrontation with Russia. Ivanishvili described reintegration of South Ossetia and Abkhazia into Georgia as one of his main goals. Ivanishvili sought making cultural and economic ties with Russia as the first step to de-escalate tensions and towards the conflict-resolution. While Ivanishvili recognized that Georgia lacked leverages for negotiations with Russia, he still thought that occupation of Georgian territories was potentially more damaging to Russia itself compared than peaceful resolution of conflict. As for Abkhazians and Ossetians, Ivanishvili envisaged making various economic, legal and other incentives for their reintegration into Georgia.[151][152][153]

At the same time, while supporting normalization of relations with Russia, the coalition envisaged Georgia as firmly aligned with the Western world, with the Georgian Dream coalition describing the EU and NATO integration as Georgia's foreign policy priorities. In 2013, Georgia rejected membership to the Eurasian Economic Union, instead signing the association agreement with the European Union.[48][49][154]

Economic policy

[edit]

The Georgian Dream coalition united parties with eclectic economic views. The coalition included both economically liberal and social democratic wings. In addition, the leading Georgian Dream party itself also held eclectic views on the economic issues, while being a self-described social democratic party, it also had a strong liberal wing.[155]

According to the Georgian Institute of Politics, Georgian Dream's economic policy comprised a combination of the pre-existing free market model, created by their predecessor United National Movement party, with a comprehensive centre-left safety net.[156] Its center-left policies included the introduction of universal healthcare system and a new labour code. However, the coalition has also professed commitment to "economic openness" and "market-driven growth", implementing both social democratic and neoliberal policies. Due to this, it has been reported that a number of left-wing activists viewed the coalition as "ideologically amorphous".[157]

Social policy

[edit]

The coalition's social policy has been described as inconsistent. The coalition passed the anti-discrimination law which also provided "protection against discrimination of sexual minorities". However, at the same time, it passed the constitutional amendment to define the marriage as the unity of a man and a woman in 2017. The proposed constitutional amendment caused a split within the ruling coalition itself, with members of the liberal-leaning Republican Party of Georgia campaigning against the initiative, despite two of its lawmakers putting their signatures on initiation of the bill.[149][158]

In a similar manner, Bidzina Ivanishvili brushed off the proposal to ban the abortion in 2013, stating that solving demographic problems "first and foremost needs economic development", despite other leading members of the coaliiton, such as Irakli Garibashvili in 2015, speaking against abortion, describing it as a murder.[159][160]

In 2017, the coalition voted in favor of the ratification of the Istanbul Convention in Georgia. The coalition has proposed several times legistlative amendments regarding the gender representation, such as imposing a gender-based quota in Parliament. Such attempts failed several times in 2017 and 2018, before being passed prior to the 2020 parliamentary election.[161][162]

Composition

[edit]

The six full members of the Georgian Dream coalition.

Party Main ideology Leader
Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia (GD-DG) Populism Bidzina Ivanishvili
Our Georgia – Free Democrats (OG-FD) Liberalism Irakli Alasania
Republican Party of Georgia (RPG) Liberalism Khatuna Samnidze
Conservative Party of Georgia (CPG) National conservatism Zviad Dzidziguri
Industry Will Save Georgia (IWSG) National conservatism Gogi Topadze
National Forum (NF) Conservatism Kakha Shartava

The three supporting members of the Georgian Dream coalition.

Party Main ideology Leader
Greens Party of Georgia (GPG) Green conservatism Giorgi Gachechiladze
People's Party (PP) Conservatism Koba Davitashvili
Social Democrats for the Development of Georgia (SDDG) Social democracy Gia Zhorzholiani

Electoral performance

[edit]

Parliamentary

[edit]
Election Leader Votes % Seats +/– Position Status
2012 Bidzina Ivanishvili 1,184,612 54.97
85 / 150
 new 1st Government

Presidential

[edit]
Election year Candidate Results
# of the overall vote % of the overall vote
2013 Giorgi Margvelashvili 1,012,569 62.12 (#1)

Local

[edit]
Election Votes % Seats +/– Position
2014 719 431 50.82
1,370 / 2,088
 new 1st

Presidents of Georgia from Georgian Dream

[edit]
Name From To
Giorgi Margvelashvili 17 November 2013 16 December 2018

Prime Ministers of Georgia from Georgian Dream

[edit]
Name From To
Bidzina Ivanishvili 25 October 2012 20 November 2013
Irakli Gharibashvili 20 November 2013 30 December 2015
Giorgi Kvirikashvili 30 December 2015 13 June 2018

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[edit]
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  124. ^ ""სოციალ-დემოკრატები" მომავალ საპარლამენტო არჩევნებში მონაწილეობას დამოუკიდებლად მიიღებენ". Radio Freedom. 16 April 2018.
  125. ^ "ჟორჟოლიანი პატრიოტთა ალიანსზე: პატრიოტიზმს ჩვენც ვიზიარებთ, სოლიდარობა არც მათთვისაა უცხო". Tabula. 4 March 2018.
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  127. ^ "Who is the Russian Orthodox communist who provoked protests in Tbilisi?". JAM News. 29 June 2019.
  128. ^ "ირაკლი კობახიძე გავრილოვთან გადაღებულ ფოტოს პროვოკაციად აფასებს". Netgazeti (in Georgian). 1 July 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  129. ^ "Sergei Gavrilov: I take a seat, where a host asks me to sit". Interpressnews. 21 June 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  130. ^ "From "peaceful protests" to "manifestation of depravity": How did the Georgian Dream present the June crisis to the public?". Georgian Institute of Politics. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  131. ^ "Georgia Ruling Party Head Announces Electoral Reform After Protests". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 24 June 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
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  133. ^ "Parliament Suspends MP Mandate to Zakaria Kutsnashvili". Civil Georgia. 4 September 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  134. ^ "Russia threatens more economic pain in standoff with Georgia". Reuters. 24 June 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  135. ^ "Putin Suspends Passenger Flights From Russia to Georgia". The Moscow Times. 21 June 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  136. ^ "Tskhinvali Opts to Open Crossing Points on a Monthly Basis". Civil Georgia. 18 August 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  137. ^ "Georgian Prime Minister Resigns, Says He Has 'Fulfilled Mission'". RFE/RL. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  138. ^ "Giorgi Gakharia Tapped New Prime Minister". Civil Georgia. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
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  144. ^ de Waal, Thomas (11 September 2012), A Crucial Election in Georgia, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
  145. ^ Linderman, Laura (2013). Six Months of Georgian Dreams: The State of Play and Ways Forward (PDF). Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center. Irakli Alasania's Our Georgia Free Democrats (OGFD) and the Republican Party, led by brothers David and Levan Berdzenishvili and the husband-and-wife team of Davit Usupashvili and Tina Khidasheli, are two prominent, liberal parties in the coalition with a strong, pro-Western foreign policy orientation. Other members include the nationalist Conservative Party, led by Zviad Dzidziguri, a loyalist of former President Zviad Gamsakhurdia; the National Forum (NF), which includes former high-ranking Shevardnadzeera bureaucrats; and the Industrialists. These parties are united in their dislike of Saakashvili and the UNM and have limited political prospects individually.
  146. ^ "Georgia: political parties and the EU" (PDF). European Parliament. Separately, Ivanishvili also committed to pursuing a pro-Western and pro-NATO foreign policy, but pledged a more pragmatic relationship with Russia.
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  150. ^ ""ჩემი აზრით, ეს არ იქნება გარღვევითი ვიზიტი, მე ამას მივამსგავსებდი ოლანდის ვიზიტს" - ნოდარ ხარშილაძე". Rustavi 2. 23 August 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
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  153. ^ "Радио ЭХО Москвы :: Новости / Грузинский бизнес не готов к экспорту своей продукции в США и Европу". Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
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  155. ^ Kakachia, Kornely (2017). The First 100 Days of The Georgian Dream Government: A Reality Check (PDF). Tbilisi, Georgia: Georgian Institute of Politics. One should not forget that, despite having a strong liberal wing, GD views itself as a center-left party and is an observer member of the Party of European Socialists (PES) in the European Parliament.
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  162. ^ "Georgian Parliament Endorses Changes to Electoral Code in Final Reading". Civil Georgia. 3 July 2020.
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