Press Scanner
Compiled by Keti Baramidze
Wednesday, June 2
The opposition has lost interest in gaining power
Kviris Palitra reports that in Georgia the election race has come to an end and politicians have to decide what to do next.
“Media monitoring has revealed perfectly well that the politicians participating in the elections didn’t do so under the same conditions. The Government candidate appeared on TV far more than the others. It’s beyond dispute that the most promising opposition candidate is Alasania, and as the battleground is still so unfair he should try to do something about this, take definite measures and lead people. But he states that we have already gone past the stage of taking street actions. That’s why the opposition is in a hopeless situation and if Alasania doesn’t change his present position no one else will improve the situation,” states analyst Ramaz Sakvarelidze.
“It was rather easy to comprehend that the consolidation of the opposition would have been harmful for the Government. I think that the opposition, though maybe against its will, has lost interest in taking power. All analysts and Ambassadors are asserting that these elections were a test of democracy, but I still say that they are extremely similar to previous ones. Georgia can rely more on America than the European Union but Washington has already said that Russia, China and India are its partners. If Georgian politics turns out to be unacceptable for both Europe and the USA then our Government's mistakes, including those made in holding elections, will become more obvious to everybody," concludes Sakvarelidze.
Subari should tell us how we could have won – Berdzenishvili
Republican Levan Berdzenishvili says in an interview with Alia that Sozar Subari has left the Alliance because, he said, the Alliance missed its chance to win.
“This position is really beyond my understanding, as when we were together he never offered us any “victory formula”. But everyone chooses his own path, and as Subari isn’t a member of any party it’s not surprising that he hasn't managed to find his place in politics. He was a perfect Ombudsman but turned out to be a bad politician," says Berdzenishvili.
"We will let Subari blame us but if he can he should give us his victory formula, even now when the election is over. I have nothing against Subari, he is a remarkable person, he just couldn’t cope with politics. I personally don’t consider that we have lost everything because the battle actually starts now. Those who have left politics are the defeated ones, but those still involved are always the winners as they always have the hope of a better future," concludes Berdzenishvili.
Levan Gachechiladze – the biggest problem was that we did not think we could win
"I went to the polling station at 08.00 am. I did not want to be shown up publicly. I will tell you who I voted for but not now. For a divided opposition to participate in the elections hoping the present regime will resign is wrong. That is why I will conduct a concrete analysis of the situation and decide how to fight from here," Levan Gachechiladze, leader of Defend Georgia, states in an interview with Mteli Kvira.
"I will talk to the political parties, especially those which did not take part in the elections, now they are over and formulate a concrete plan to remove Saakashvili’s regime. There is a deep crisis within the opposition due to mutual distrust and ambition. If this is not discussed publicly, the situation will only get worse," Gachechiladze says.
"I did not legitimise the elections by voting. I just protected the vote of Levan Gachechiladze from misrepresentation. I cannot allow them to falsify my vote. I tried to avoid making any public statement during the campaign because I did not want to express a public opinion about any of the Mayoral candidates," Levan Gachechiladze adds.
"The greatest drawback of the election campaign was the lack of confidence that we could win. The next week will be very interesting. Accusations will fly around which will stain the situation further," Gachechiladze says.
Kviris Palitra reports that in Georgia the election race has come to an end and politicians have to decide what to do next.
“Media monitoring has revealed perfectly well that the politicians participating in the elections didn’t do so under the same conditions. The Government candidate appeared on TV far more than the others. It’s beyond dispute that the most promising opposition candidate is Alasania, and as the battleground is still so unfair he should try to do something about this, take definite measures and lead people. But he states that we have already gone past the stage of taking street actions. That’s why the opposition is in a hopeless situation and if Alasania doesn’t change his present position no one else will improve the situation,” states analyst Ramaz Sakvarelidze.
“It was rather easy to comprehend that the consolidation of the opposition would have been harmful for the Government. I think that the opposition, though maybe against its will, has lost interest in taking power. All analysts and Ambassadors are asserting that these elections were a test of democracy, but I still say that they are extremely similar to previous ones. Georgia can rely more on America than the European Union but Washington has already said that Russia, China and India are its partners. If Georgian politics turns out to be unacceptable for both Europe and the USA then our Government's mistakes, including those made in holding elections, will become more obvious to everybody," concludes Sakvarelidze.
Subari should tell us how we could have won – Berdzenishvili
Republican Levan Berdzenishvili says in an interview with Alia that Sozar Subari has left the Alliance because, he said, the Alliance missed its chance to win.
“This position is really beyond my understanding, as when we were together he never offered us any “victory formula”. But everyone chooses his own path, and as Subari isn’t a member of any party it’s not surprising that he hasn't managed to find his place in politics. He was a perfect Ombudsman but turned out to be a bad politician," says Berdzenishvili.
"We will let Subari blame us but if he can he should give us his victory formula, even now when the election is over. I have nothing against Subari, he is a remarkable person, he just couldn’t cope with politics. I personally don’t consider that we have lost everything because the battle actually starts now. Those who have left politics are the defeated ones, but those still involved are always the winners as they always have the hope of a better future," concludes Berdzenishvili.
Levan Gachechiladze – the biggest problem was that we did not think we could win
"I went to the polling station at 08.00 am. I did not want to be shown up publicly. I will tell you who I voted for but not now. For a divided opposition to participate in the elections hoping the present regime will resign is wrong. That is why I will conduct a concrete analysis of the situation and decide how to fight from here," Levan Gachechiladze, leader of Defend Georgia, states in an interview with Mteli Kvira.
"I will talk to the political parties, especially those which did not take part in the elections, now they are over and formulate a concrete plan to remove Saakashvili’s regime. There is a deep crisis within the opposition due to mutual distrust and ambition. If this is not discussed publicly, the situation will only get worse," Gachechiladze says.
"I did not legitimise the elections by voting. I just protected the vote of Levan Gachechiladze from misrepresentation. I cannot allow them to falsify my vote. I tried to avoid making any public statement during the campaign because I did not want to express a public opinion about any of the Mayoral candidates," Levan Gachechiladze adds.
"The greatest drawback of the election campaign was the lack of confidence that we could win. The next week will be very interesting. Accusations will fly around which will stain the situation further," Gachechiladze says.