Lelo’s Elisashvili rules out unification with Saakashvili’s UNM party

“If they pursue an alliance, let them decide on their stance. They criticise us in the morning, then extend their hand at noon and then scold us in the evening again. This will not work,” said Aleko Elisashvili, a member of the Lelo-Strong Georgia party.

Elisashvili echoed the social media post by the incarcerated former president, in which Mikheil Saakashvili accuses former officials Paliko Kublashvili and Nika Gilauri of campaigning against him but calls on political parties for unity.

According to Aleko Elisashvili, the Lelo-Strong Georgia declared a moratorium on the opposition’s criticism, and the party is not interested in internal conflicts.

“Amid attacks on the coalition, we have not engaged in counter-attacks, not because we cannot criticise in response to criticism, but because we do not want the common adversary, the Russian government, to benefit from that.

As for unification with Saakashvili, we say no. We know what we are doing. We are a consistent, straightforward political coalition and the strongest political organisation in the opposition. If they pursue an alliance, let them decide on their stance. They criticise us in the morning, then extend their hand at noon and then scold us in the evening again. This will not work.

We see the political future of this country. We have faith in our coalition and the fight of our members. We are less interested in conflict among the UNM’s former or current members. Well, we read it, but we have our path and strategy. We want to defeat this Russian government and seize the authority from them. The rest is their affair. What Saakashvili says and what will be Gvaramia’s response have less importance for us,” he said.