In a new statement, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze once again claimed that the ruling Georgian Dream party is being targeted by the ‘deep state’. In this context, he compared Georgia’s government to that of Hungary and the opposition parties in France and Moldova. He also thanked US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard for ‘exposing the deep state’.
Kobakhidze’s statement began by referencing a conclusion from Gabbard’s team, which claimed that the administration of former President Barack Obama lied when it accused Russia of interfering in the 2016 election in favor of Donald Trump.
Gabbard’s claims have been widely dismissed as being baseless and influenced by partisan politics.
Kobakhidze then stated that labeling opponents as ‘pro-Russian’ is a ‘well-established tactic of the “deep state” in various countries’.
According to Kobakhidze, European media outlets are used in this process since they are ‘under the near-total control of the deep state’.
‘Thanks to the monopolised media, they can easily create any image of any politician’, he said.
Kobakhidze went on to list European politicians who, in his view, have been labeled as pro-Russian without any supporting evidence. Among them, he named Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s National Rally, former Romanian presidential candidate Călin Georgescu, as well as ‘opposition forces’ in Moldova and the Hungarian government led by Viktor Orbán.
‘Just because Viktor Orbán’s government defends its national interests, opposes pseudo-liberal ideology, and stands on the side of peace, he has been labeled a pro-Russian politician’, Kobakhidze added.
According to the prime minister, a ‘similar campaign’ is being carried out against Georgian Dream and its founder Bidzina Ivanishvili using ‘Goebbels-style propaganda methods’, referring to the infamous Nazi official. He claimed that the process involves not only Georgia’s ‘radical opposition’ and non-governmental organisations, but also ‘their foreign sponsors, including representatives of the European bureaucracy’.
‘The only reason they are trying to label our government as pro-Russian is because we don’t follow external orders, we’ve cleared all branches of power from foreign agents, we defend our sovereignty, we didn’t allow LGBT propaganda, and we didn’t get involved in the war’, he concluded.
At the end of the statement, he said that ‘we should thank Ms. Tulsi Gabbard for exposing the deep state’.
‘The public must have full information about the methods used by the oligarchs’ informal rule to discredit political opponents […]’, he added.
The deep state, as well as global war party, are two nebulous terms that regularly fit into Georgian Dream’s conspiracy theories, and refer to shadowy forces that are trying to overthrow the Georgian government and push it into war with Russia.
The ruling party’s use of conspiracy theories has intensified amid a sharp deterioration in relations with Western allies, following its adoption of several pieces of repressive legislation, as well as the widespread violations documented during the October 2024 parliamentary elections.
Relations plummeted further still after the Georgian government announced it was freezing its EU membership bid, violently dispersing protesters against the decision and passing a new barrage of restrictive laws.
Georgian Dream repeatedly equated international criticism with interference in the country’s internal affairs, attempts to undermine its stability, and an assault on its traditional values.
These messages have intensified in recent days after the European Commission presented Georgian Dream with eight recommendations — including the repeal of repressive laws — warning that failure to comply could lead to the suspension of the visa-free regime in place since 2017.
OC Media
