Ex-PM Ivanishvili names Free Democrats, Republicans as his second choice
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Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgia’s former Prime Minister and founder of the ruling Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia (GDDG) party, has ranked the political parties competing in next month’s Parliamentary Elections.
Ivanishvili stressed GDDG was the best party to support as it had the best intentions and policies, then he ranked the Free Democrats and the Republicans as his second and third choice respectively for the October 8 vote, because these two parties had a "clear pro-Western direction”, which was in the best interest of Georgia.
The ex-PM appeared on a TV program within a series of pre-election talk shows Meetings with regional media earlier today. He was asked, excluding GDDG itself, who had the former PM’s sympathies among the former party members of the Georgian Dream coalition.
Ivanishvili replied initially the Republicans were his second choice followed by the Free Democrats but now his opinion had changed.
"The Free Democrats and the Republicans are consistent in their support for Georgia entering the European and Euro-Atlantic space and there are no question marks about this and that’s why I mentioned these two parties as my second and third choice,” Ivanishvili said.
He believed in the past Free Democrats party leader, Irakli Alasania, was too dominant "and party members would repeat Alasania’s mistakes all the time” but now the party had changed.
"Now things have changed. The team didn’t follow the leader and didn’t let him make mistakes. In this regard, for me the [Free] Democrats seem healthier.”
Ivanishvili also explained why the Industrials (Industry Will Save Georgia party) weren’t among his favourites.
"The Industrials used to follow the main team [within the GD coalition], but if we look back to several statements by [party leader] Gogi Topadze, these statements led to doubts that they were pro-European,” Ivanishvili said.
"Later they only intensified this stance and now they have obviously pro-Russian aspirations.”
The Georgian Dream coalition was established prior to the 2012 Parliamentary Elections to defeat United National Movement (UNM) as the ruling government in Georgia. Back then the coalition was composed of:
- The Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia party;
- The Republican Party of Georgia;
- Our Georgia - Free Democrats;
- The People’s Party of Georgia;
- The Conservative Party of Georgia;
- Industry Will Save Georgia;
- The National Forum;
- And several other individuals.
Since the 2012 election several parties left the coalition and almost all will compete as individual parties in the Parliamentary Elections on October 8.
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