PM Kobakhidze dismisses opposition’s Sunday’s rally as ‘fiasco’

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has downplayed the scale and significance of Sunday’s opposition-led rally in Tbilisi, calling it a “complete fiasco” and claiming it reflected the weakness of the so-called radical opposition.

Speaking to journalists on Monday, Kobakhidze said that “despite extensive efforts and backing”, opposition groups failed to mobilise substantial public support. “Four parties, 40 NGOs, funding from the European bureaucracy, the entire ‘deep state’ - all were involved, and at the peak they brought out just 2,000 people,” he said. “This is the reality of the radical opposition today.”

He described the turnout as a failure, especially under what he characterised as conditions of “full mobilisation,” adding “everything is going very well - the radical opposition is destroying itself, while the country is developing steadily in all directions.”

Kobakhidze also criticised the tactic of blocking central roads during protests, arguing that such actions disrupted daily life and should be met with legal penalties. “It’s unprecedented that 150, or sometimes just 50 people, are allowed to block the main avenue of the capital,” he said. “This requires fines and appropriate measures - society has the right to walk peacefully on Rustaveli Avenue.”

The Prime Minister further took aim at foreign diplomats, criticising the German ambassador for meeting with opposition figure Elene Khoshtaria during her hunger strike. He called the meeting a violation of diplomatic norms and said it amounted to encouraging self-harm.

“We cannot be tolerant of the wrong actions of certain ambassadors,” Kobakhidze stated. “Violation of the Vienna Convention is unacceptable, as is the encouragement of self-harming behaviour.”