Georgia: Ruling party nominates hardline ex-City player Mikheil Kavelashvili for presidency!

The ruling party of Georgia proposed today Wednesday the Michael Kavelashviliformer Member of Parliament and professional footballer, as his presidential candidate in the elections which will be held on December 14.

Kavelashvili, who briefly played in Manchester City as a forward in the mid-1990s, he is founding member of People’s Powera group that has emerged from a split of the ruling Georgian Dream and has history of hardline, anti-Western statements.

In September, he described the opposition as a “fifth phalanx” that was trying to undermine the peace in Georgia at the behest of “the American government and certain senators.”

In June, he accused US lawmakers of plotting “immediate violent revolution,” had a plan to Ukrainize Georgia, and spoke of an “insatiable desire to destroy our country.”

His election is almost certainas the Georgian Dream dominates the electorate of the parliament and local government representatives.

Moving away from the West

Although the role of the president is largely formal, the choice of Kavelashvili is likely to be seen by the European Union and the United States as yet another sign that Georgia is moving away from the West and closer to Russia.

He is set to succeed President Salome Zourabisvili, who was elected as an ally of the ruling bloc but has become his fierce criticaccusing it that is deliberately derailing Georgia’s hopes of joining the EU.

Zurabishvili denounced last month’s parliamentary elections, won by Georgian Dream, as rigged, with opposition MPs refusing to take their seats in parliament.

For his part, the 52-year-old Kavelashvili, in the speech in which he accepted the nomination, pledged to contribute to the unity of Georgia, while accused the outgoing president of “insulting and disregarding” the constitution.

Although Georgia is traditionally one of the most pro-Western countries to emerge from the former Soviet Union, the Georgian Dream has in recent years deepened ties with Russiawhile he is also accused by his opponents of authoritarian tendencies.

“Russian inspired” laws

The ruling party has been in favor of Georgia joining the EU, but Brussels says Tbilisi’s request has been frozen due to newly passed “foreign agent” laws and curbs on LGBT rights that Western critics call draconian and Russian-inspired.

People’s Power, of which Kavelashvili is a founding member, is considered one of the most pro-Russian political forces in Georgia and has championed “foreign agent” laws as well as anti-LGBT laws.

Kavelashvili’s appointment was announced on Wednesday by Bidzina Ivanishvili, the billionaire former prime minister who founded Georgian Dream and is widely regarded as the country’s most powerful figure. Ivanishvili praised the former footballer as an “excellent” politician and athlete, contrasting him with Zurabishvili, whom he accused of “gross betrayal” of the country.

Source: Daily

With information from Reuters