The Georgian dream and the other ones

„In a country where the population is pro-European and the government is pro-Russian, there is no way that things can go even reasonably well. The feeling of injustice surrounds you so strongly that you feel something with every breath, something that sticks in your throat. There is only one remedy: you must fight and not give up. The dusk was broken at the last March rallies, people felt the power and we regained the faith that we can achieve our goals.“ - Liza, from the small party Droa

Dissatisfaction with the current ruling party „the Georgian Dream“ is a major issue among the population. They accuse it of not making sufficient efforts to join the EU and also of not distancing itself sufficiently from Moscow. Many support the largest opposition party, UNM, whose leader Mikheil Saakashvili is currently imprisoned by the government. In his legislature, he ensured progress and a pro-European policy with which he made himself unpopular on the Russian side.

Meanwhile, there are many small parties, all seeking a way to defy the superiority of the Georgian Dream and the influence of its oligarchs. This is also the case with the small and young Droa party, which I was able to visit at its party headquarters. For them, rapprochement with the EU and the adoption of Western democratic values are their highest priorities.

1: Liza Davitadze (left), member of the small political party „Droa“ in her office with a colleague, Tbilisi, Georgia 2: Parliament, Tbilisi, Georgia 3: Salome Zourabichvili, President of Georgia, recalls the Soviet massacre of April 9, 1989, Tbilisi, Georgia 4: Meeting room of the political party UNM, Tbilisi, Georgia