Georgian Parliament official says gov’t prioritises national interests over political gains

Rati Ionatamishvili, the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights Protection and Civil Integration, on Tuesday said the government’s actions were guided by the country’s needs rather than narrow political interests, with the aim of further developing the economy, security and democracy.

In his interview with Imedi TV, Ionatamishvili noted that achieving these goals required national forces to be represented both in government and in the opposition.

“Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze expressed a very interesting and genuinely statesmanlike position today when he noted that, if we acted solely in pursuit of narrow political interests, having such people in the opposition could be electorally very advantageous for us. They have been exposed, they have no support from our society, and with such a discredited opposition, a landslide victory would effectively be guaranteed”, he said.

“From this perspective, the whole issue might not even have been worth considering. However, we do not act out of our own subjective political interests, but rather on the basis of what our homeland and country need for the economy, security and democracy to continue developing. This requires national forces to be represented both in government and in the opposition”, Ionatamishvili concluded.