This editorial first appeared in the 23 March 2023 edition of commonspace.eu's bi-weekly newsletter, Caucasus Concise. To sign up for this newsletter and others, click here.
At the moment in Georgia, "on the one hand there is the struggle for power between elements of the government and elements of the opposition. There have been plenty of examples in the past of these elements being willing to sacrifice anything to hold on to this power," writes commonspace.eu in this editorial. "There is also however a parallel struggle, that is based on values and foreign policy orientation [...] The prospect is now emerging that the next political struggle will be about values. The quicker Georgian politicians understand this, the better. And for their own sake, as well as that of their country, they should make sure they position themselves on the right side of history."
Two weeks ago, thousands of young Georgians decided that they could not allow their future, and that of their country, to be ruined by incompetent and self-gratifying politicians. They took to the streets and forced the government to withdraw a controversial and ill-conceived “foreign agents law” that was being discussed in parliament, and that many perceived to be a threat to the country’s independent media and civil society.
Having unsuccessfully used pepper spray and tear gas without quelling the protests outside parliament, the government understood that the next step could lead to someone getting killed. With memories of 9 April 1989 – when several young Georgians were killed by Soviet OMON troops in the very same place whilst demonstrating in support of the Georgian language - still very fresh in Georgians’ minds, the government decided it could not survive a repetition, and hastily withdrew the bill.
The opposition rushed to call it a victory. Some grey figures from the past emerged to pretend they had masterminded the whole thing. The fact that the opposition has spent months unsuccessfully trying to mobilise people on the streets on other issues, including the release of jailed former president Mikheil Saakashvili, shows they did not control the protestors. This was certainly a defeat of the government, but not a victory of the opposition.
The students are now back in their dormitories, and the politicians back to hurling insults at each other, in parliament and on the notorious night talk shows, but the Georgian political scene has changed.
There are now two parallel struggles going on:
On the one hand there is the struggle for power between elements of the government and elements of the opposition. There have been plenty of examples in the past of these elements being willing to sacrifice anything to hold on to this power.
In an insightful op-ed on Carnegie Europe, Kornely Kakachia and Bidzina Lebinadze speak about “the conflictual nature of Georgia’s political dynamics”, saying that it is “between the ruling regime focused on its own survival, a fragmented but power-hungry opposition, and - squeezed between the two - a pro-European and reform-friendly civil society.”
Read it here on Carnegie Europe.
There is also however a parallel struggle, that is based on values and foreign policy orientation. Politicians also participate in this struggle, and supporters of different views can be found in both government and opposition forces. But the debate is also being waged in wider Georgian society, where overwhelmingly the people do not want to return to the authoritarianism of the past, where they want a future that is not dictated by Russia, and where they want governments and politicians that are accountable to the people.
Another institution that is also caught in this debate is the Georgian Orthodox Church. Abusing the frail health of Catholicos Patriarch Ilya II, some are trying to manipulate the Church. But within the Orthodox Church there are also different views, including on key social issues, and the Church should not be seen as the tool of one or the other of the sides. On the contrary, those positive elements in the Georgian Orthodox Church need to be engaged with.
In the past, too many of Georgia’s political struggles have been about power and personalities. The prospect is now emerging that the next political struggle will be about values. The quicker Georgian politicians understand this, the better. And for their own sake, as well as that of their country, they should make sure they position themselves on the right side of history.
