Europe is the only alternative
An interview with Salome Zourabichvili, fifth president of Georgia. Interviewer: Wojciech Wojtasiewicz
WOJCIECH WOJTASIEWICZ: Madame President, I would like to start by asking about your political plans and how best to resolve the current political and constitutional crisis in Georgia?
SALOME ZOURABICHVILI: Don’t ask me about plans, because there are no plans when you are fighting. Practically speaking, Georgia now has a dictatorship, or a Russian-style regime. Since the so-called elections, which were clearly manipulated, the Georgian Dream parliament and government have been pursuing repressive measures in the country. Day after day, they are applying measures to crush the protests and civil society.
May 5, 2025 -
Salome Zourabichvili
Wojciech Wojtasiewicz
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InterviewsIssue 3 2025Magazine
The latest thing that we are seeing are repressions in the public sector, forcing it under the complete control of the government, which – as everyone in Georgia knows – is very important. About 40 per cent of Georgians are employed in this sector. As a result, these repressions have placed enormous pressure on the society as a whole. That is what we are fighting against. We are fighting with our bare hands and by peaceful means. We are protesting against these fraudulent elections, and especially the November 28th decision of the Georgian Dream prime minister to turn this country away from Europe and towards Russia. There is no middle ground. Our choice is to be either with Europe or in Russia’s hands.
That is where they are taking us and that is why the protests continue. We are in a standoff in which the Georgian Dream government is in fact no longer governing properly. They do not have any policies, be it internal, economic or foreign. They only rule by repressions. On the other hand, there is the peaceful protest movement, which can continue in its current form because the society does not have any other means. This standoff has led our small country to an enormous crisis. Unlike large players, such as Russia or Iran, we cannot turn inwards and continue existing while being isolated. Instead, we can say that it is the government that is completely isolated from a very large part of the society, including those who stay silent, as they have no other choice. The question is how long can this situation last? We have no resources, tourism is plummeting, foreign investments have practically stopped. The only income that we have now is dark money. This is circulated as a result of some Georgian Dream decisions and the offshore laws that, for example, allow Bidzina Ivanishvili to bring back his art collection to Georgia without paying taxes. This offshore law has truly allowed Georgia to become a grey zone, not only for Ivanishvili, but also other potentially sanctioned oligarchs.
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