“Society has been hearing the same stories about ephemeral opposition groups for around thirteen years. That’s why I wouldn’t place much faith in these tales,” said MP Levan Makhashvili, a member of the parliamentary majority.

When asked about Zurab Japaridze, leader of Girchi – More Freedom, who stated that civil society and political groups are engaged in discussions to agree on new visions and rules of the game, Makhashvili responded:

“For so many years, they’ve been saying the same thing: let’s unite, we need to build trust among ourselves, and so on. But the main thing they continually overlook is that they should be working not just on what they can prove to each other, or on mutual assistance, but on earning the trust of the public. They have inflicted numerous tragedies and misfortunes upon this country and its people. Therefore, the crucial task is to explain to the public why these individuals deserve to be on the political stage. The constitutional process, which involves the prohibition of certain criminal parties, is also vital. It demonstrates very clearly that no matter what configuration they adopt, what colours they wear, or what names they go by, they cannot erase that very important past. Have we heard anything genuinely new?

Over the years, we have witnessed many political blunders. Some of these mistakes go far beyond mere political misjudgements. They constitute serious criminal offences, as we saw on October 4. When we say that these parties are utterly untrustworthy, it’s because they don’t trust each other. Most importantly, they do not trust the public, largely due to the steps or decisions they have taken or the crimes they have committed over the years. We have heard nothing new, only fairy tales about unity and necessity, about how we must come together. We often speak of an ideal world, but when it comes to making real, significant decisions for the public, in critical moments, these parties reveal their true nature, the one that is completely disconnected from the interests of citizens,” Makhashvili noted.