Georgia parliament approves West sceptic as new PM

Georgia’s parliament on Thursday (8 February) confirmed former ruling party leader Irakli Kobakhidze — known for his anti-Western rhetoric — as the Black Sea nation’s next prime minister.

Lawmakers approved Kobakhidze as the new premier by 84 votes to 10, after his predecessor resigned to steer the ruling party in upcoming parliamentary elections.

Kobakhidze’s nomination is likely to raise eyebrows in the West over his claims that European countries and the United States are trying to drag Georgia into the Russia-Ukraine war.

Georgia accuses Ukraine after explosives found at border

Georgia’s acting prime minister accused Ukraine on Tuesday (6 February) of trying to spread war to his country, after authorities seized what they said was a truck loaded with explosives bound for Russia.

But addressing lawmakers ahead of Thursday’s vote, he presented his future cabinet’s programme dubbed “For the Construction of the European State,” saying that Georgia’s long-held ambitions to join NATO and the European Union would be his government’s priority.

He also said that “restoring Georgia’s territorial integrity is the goal of our political team, which will do everything to that end.”

Georgia lost effective control of two breakaway regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, in the 1990s, and in 2008, after invading the country, Russia stationed permanent military bases there and recognised the provinces’ pro-Moscow authorities.

A constitutional scholar and university professor, Kobakhidze, 45, served as parliamentary speaker between 2016 and 2019 and as vice-president of Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe rights watchdog from 2020 to
2022.

The previous head of government, Irakli Garibashvili, resigned last week, saying he would guide ruling Georgian Dream party to a “convincing victory in parliamentary elections” scheduled in October.

Georgian prime minister resigns ahead of parliamentary elections

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili resigned from office on Monday (29 January), saying he wanted to allow his replacement time to prepare for parliamentary elections due in the South Caucasus country by October.

He then replaced Kobakhidze as the party’s chairman.

The government reshuffle came a month after the comeback of the powerful billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Ivanishvili, the country’s richest man who made his fortune in Russia, is widely believed to be calling the shots in Georgia despite having had no official political role over the last two years.

He served as Georgia’s prime minister in 2012-2013 and formally retired from politics in 2021, but critics say he has since continued to rule from behind the scenes.

Billionaire Georgia party leader Bidzina Ivanishvili says quitting politics

The billionaire leader of Georgia’s ruling party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, who is widely seen as the Western-backed country’s most powerful man, announced Monday (11 January) he was quitting politics.

In December, he took the post of the ruling Georgian Dream party’s honorary chairman and analysts have suggested his return foreshadows imminent political changes.

Curtailing the power of oligarchs was among several requirements demanded by the EU for Georgia to progress on its European integration path.

Read more with Euractiv

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