MP Davit Matikashvili: Bankrupt UNM resorts to begging from remaining handful of supporters; this is end of party

“The United National Movement is in absolute agony. Saakashvili’s impromptu interview laid bare the deep-seated crisis gripping the party. It exposed how they divide society into echo chambers and the self-appointed ‘chattering classes’, and it showed how desperately they are hunting for supporters they cannot find,” declared MP Davit Matikashvili, Chairman of the Parliamentary Procedural Issues Committee.

According to Matikashvili, the end-of-days reality of the United National Movement, coming straight from the mouth of their own supreme leader, proves once again that there is no place in Georgia for this degraded party.

“The collapse unfolding within this party is the logical conclusion of the anti-Georgian politics they have championed for years, which must ultimately end with the total disappearance of this destructive opposition. The foreign agent network that the United National Movement represents can no longer rely on the vast overseas funding it enjoyed for years; Georgian legislation has made it incredibly difficult for these agents to line their pockets.

Stuck in this desperate quagmire, the National Movement is now burdening its tiny remaining handful of followers by shamelessly begging them for cash donations. In practice, this signals the party’s absolute death. It reflects the deep swamp in which Saakashvili and his faction are drowning. Forcing their own supporters to pick up the tab is nothing short of panhandling, driven entirely by their desire to secure better conditions for themselves.

Back when Nika Gilauri was Saakashvili’s Prime Minister, they understood each other perfectly. Today, Saakashvili blames everyone but himself for his failures, desperately trying to shift the blame onto anyone he can. He has even soured on Salome Zourabichvili, lest we forget how heavily they hedged their bets on her to toe the United National Movement line, which meant dragging Georgia into a war and plunging the country into chaos. Frankly, whether Saakashvili tells the truth or a lie makes no difference; who is going to hold him to account? The man is entirely saturated in falsehoods,” Matikashvili concluded.