Georgia’s 20-year-old Rose Revolution, led by Mikheil Saakashvili, was seen as a new hope for the country, but the current leadership, including the ruling Georgian Dream party, is not celebrating the anniversary.
The party, which took power in 2012 after defeating Saakashvili and his United National Movement (ENM), is primarily in opposition to the former regime. Saakashvili, now in jail on various charges, calls his successors Russian puppets and claims the charges against him are politically motivated. Polarization in Georgian politics is so deep that the European Union has emphasized it as a key issue in the country’s bid to join the bloc. However, the Georgian Dream government is continuing along the path that the Rose Revolution began 20 years ago, fulfilling the legacy set by its hated enemies.
The divide in Georgian politics is more personality-driven, with people cursing each other and talking about their opponents’ weaknesses rather than discussing issues. The Georgian Dream government is fulfilling the legacy set by its hated enemies, but the deep animosity between the current and former ruling parties is a shame.
A 2021 study by political scientists for the German Friedrich Ebert Foundation found that Georgia’s two main feuding blocs, Georgian Dream and Saakashvili’s ENM, had more commonalities than differences in terms of economic policy. Under Shevardnadze’s rule, the economy stagnated and corruption allegations were widespread. Saakashvili’s government had a strong ideological vision, focusing on pro-Western foreign policy and a free-market economic policy. Georgia became a close ally of the US and deepened its enmity with Russia, leading to a war in 2008.
In 2012, Georgian Dream, a diverse coalition assembled by billionaire businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili, voted out Saakashvili and the ENM. The new leadership took a less confrontational approach toward Russia, while moving closer to the West. Georgian Dream has intensified its policy of accommodating Moscow following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Georgian Dream has recently shifted towards social conservatism, focusing on “family values” and identity, inspired by Viktor Orban’s Hungary. Despite this, many Georgians still see similarities between the two regimes, such as the loss of 20% of the country’s territory due to the 2008 war over South Ossetia, which led to a Russian invasion of Georgia and the recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent republics. Both regions now host thousands of Russian troops.
Paata Zakareshvili, a critic of both regimes, argues that Georgian Dream follows the agenda set by Saakashvili’s government. He cites the previous government’s halting of regular dialogues with de facto governments in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, as Russia and Moscow decide everything. When Georgian Dream came to power, the government modernized its approach and refused to talk to these entities, fearing exposure to criticism.
Georgian Dream accepts that Russia is the only party worth dealing with in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, but both governments suffer from the same fatal flaw. Zakareshvili believes that Russia is 80% of the problem, while the other 20% is the problem with the Abkhazians and Ossetians. If the problem is not solved, Russia will take advantage of it.
Georgia’s two regimes, Saakashvili and Georgian Dream, have been compared in terms of their initial liberalization and authoritarianism. President Salome Zurabishvili, elected in 2018 with the backing of Georgian Dream, has become an outspoken critic of the ruling party.
The country has seen a significant reduction in corruption, with the law enforcement system overhauled by Saakashvili almost wiped out, while politically connected businessmen still receive favorable treatment. However, the economic sphere is where the continuity between the two parties’ time in power is most pronounced. Under Saakashvili, Georgia prioritized attracting foreign investment, reducing taxes and simplifying regulations. They also emphasized the absence of a minimum wage to attract foreign investors.
The Georgian Dream government initially criticized the previous government’s economic development strategies, leading to the Economic Liberty Act, which enshrined austerity principles in the constitution towards the end of the Saakashvili era. The law made it impossible to raise taxes without a referendum, and Saakashvili promised it would turn Georgia into a global liberal economic ideology.
Critics argue that the Georgian Dream law, which was revoked in 2017, hinders the government’s ability to manage the economy. Beka Natsvlishvili, a political economist and former member of parliament in a social-democratic faction of Georgian Dream, believes that the current government is path dependent on the agenda set by Saakashvili. The government has also introduced a new pension scheme, where individuals have to choose how to invest their retirement savings, deepening neoliberalism.
Georgia has continued to climb in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings, reaching seventh in the world in 2020. This view of development allows for quick revenues and immediate results, which is easy for a party largely uninterested in economic issues. A more hands-on economic policy would require a more active government to work out policy sector-by-sector, coordinate actions with the central bank, and implement corresponding education reforms.
Opinion polls consistently show that Georgians’ top concerns are economic, with 67% of responses to a recent survey by the International Republican Institute being economic. However, neither the ruling party nor the opposition brings up this topic in politics and the parties, leaving a significant gap in understanding the country’s economic situation.
