Alliance of Patriots of Georgia

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Alliance of Patriots of Georgia
საქართველოს პატრიოტთა ალიანსი
ChairmanDavit Tarkhan Mouravi
Secretary-GeneralIrma Inashvili
Political SecretaryGiorgi Lomia
Founded2012
HeadquartersTbilisi, Georgia
Ideology
Political positionRight-wing[2] to far-right[6]
Colors  Red and   Gold
Seats in Parliament
0 / 150
Municipal Councilors
5 / 2,068
Website
http://patriots.ge/

Alliance of Patriots of Georgia (Georgian: საქართველოს პატრიოტთა ალიანსი, romanized: sakartvelos p'at'riot'ta aliansi, APG) is a right-wing populist and anti-Western political party in Georgia.[5][7] It was founded in 2012 by leaders from the Resistance Movement, which opposed the pro-Western government of Mikheil Saakashvili.[8] Davit Tarkhan Mouravi has served as the party's chairman, while Irma Inashvili serves as its secretary general.

Being on the left of Georgian politics on economic policy, its social views are predominantly right-wing.[9] The party has been widely described as pro-Russian and anti-Turkish, categorizations it rejects in favor of the label "pro-Georgian".[7][10] Moreover, the party has been accused of being financed by Kremlin, an accusation it denies.[5][11]

History

Irma Inashvili, a founder of the party, in 2020

Alliance of Patriots has its origins in the Resistance Movement, a group fiercely critical of the former ruling party, the United National Movement.[8] The party was founded in December 2012, by Soso Manjavidze, Davit Tarkhan-Mouravi, and Irma Inashvili. Giorgi Lomia has served as its political secretary.[8][12] The party leadership also included former warlord Emzar Kvitsiani, a figure that has attracted significant controversy.[13]

In the 2014 local elections, it gained an aggregate nationwide vote of 4.7%, exceeding the 4% threshold required for seats allocated to proportional representation in the local councils of 30 out of 47 municipalities, including Tbilisi. Inashvili, the mayoral candidate in Tbilisi, finished fourth while the party qualified for the run-off elections against Georgian Dream candidates in the cities of Poti and Ozurgeti.[8][14]

In June 2016, the party formed a bloc with five other parties (Free Georgia, led by Kakha Kukava; Tavisupleba, led by Konstantine Gamsakhurdia; Union of Georgian Traditionalists, led by Akaki Asatiani; New Christian-Democrats, led by Gocha Jojua, and Political Movement of Law Enforcement and Armed Forces Veterans) ahead of the 2016 parliamentary election.[15] It finished in the 3rd place and just passed the electoral threshold of 5% required to enter the parliament.[16] During the 9th Parliamentary Convocation one MP from the party defected and sat as an independent, however, the party was joined by 2 MPs, who broke off from the Georgian Dream.[17] In the 2017 local elections the party's vote share increased to 6.56% and it managed to elect 90 Councilors.[18]

In October 2020, ahead of the parliamentary election, Facebook removed a network of fake accounts related to Alliance of Patriots spreading anti-Western propaganda and disinformation.[5][19] In the election, Alliance of Patriots’ vote share dropped to 3.14%, but with the 5% barrier lowered to 1%, it did manage to elect 4 deputies through proportional representation. However, the party along with the rest of the opposition claimed that the results were fabricated and therefore refused to enter the parliament.[20]

Pridon Injia, the leader of European Socialists, in parliament

Irma Inashvili, Gocha Tevdoradze, and Giorgi Lomia suspended their MP status, however, the party as a whole did not cancel the entire party list, which allowed Avtandil Enukidze, Davit Zilpimiani, Gela Mikadze, and Pridon Injia to keep their mandates and enter the parliament.[20] They soon left Alliance of Patriots and established their own party, European Socialists, formally rejecting their former party's Euroscepticism and support for military neutrality declaring a Euro-Atlantic agenda.[21] Alliance of Patriots has referred to the move "betrayal" and described their name as "cynical", stating that a party of "4 millionaires can not be socialist".[22] Amid this chaos, the party achieved its lowest result yet losing 85 out of 90 local councilors and falling to just 1.46% in 2021 local elections.[23]

In June 2024, Alt-Info an anti-Western far-right movement, announced they would run in the parliamentary election through the electoral list of the Alliance of Patriots after their party Conservative Movement as well as Georgian Idea, another far-right party whom they had reached an agreement with to run on their list, were deregistered and effectively banned.[24]

Ideology

Despite Alliance of Patriots positioning itself as a moderate conservative party, it is frequently categorized as a radical far-right movement.[5][25][26] Analysts have referred to the party as illiberal, anti-liberal, ultraconservative, and ultranationalist.[5][27][28] Populism is widely attributed to the group, with it being categorized as Right-wing populist, populist-conservative or illiberal populist.[3][5][28] The party has regularly been described as anti-Western, Eurosceptic and pro-Russia.[3][5][10][27] However, the party's official stance is that it supports military neutrality and a start of a dialogue with Russia, explicitly ruling out NATO membership while not rejecting European Union integration.[5][10]

The party has declared its aim to become a "third force" in Georgian politics. It has been critical of both the Georgian Dream and the United National Movement, two dominant political parties, describing them as being part of the same "corrupt elite", however, its criticism mainly focuses on the United National Movement, while denouncing the Georgian Dream government for not dealing with the United National Movement harsher for the alleged crimes the party committed during its rule before Georgian Dream took over in 2012. Even in later years, when the Alliance of Patriots grew more critical of the Georgian Dream and accused it of rigging the 2020 Georgian parliamentary election, the United National Movement still remained its archenemy. At several times the Alliance of Patriots sought to initiate the process of banning the United National Movement, which it described as running a "criminal regime" from 2003 to 2012.[citation needed]

Economic policy

Despite being a broadly right-wing party, the economic policy of Alliance of Patriots is on the left of Georgian politics.[9] The party program has included various left-wing pledges such as increasing pensions and the establishment of free municipal clinics.[5] 

Social policy

The party's social rhetoric puts an emphasis on preserving religious and cultural identity as well as protecting the nation and its traditions from external threats. It disavows liberal values and has been accused of weaponizing xenophobia as well as homophobia and "using religion as a shield". Over the years it has organized protests for various different social causes, which have been criticized for their "destructive" nature.[5] 

The party has been accused of harboring anti-Turkish and anti-Azerbaijani sentiment and refueling historic grievances to gain the support of voters. It has campaigned against the building of mosques in Adjara, with “Protect Adjara” being one of the major slogans, warning of a growing Turkish influence. Additionally, the banners used in the protests showed Adjara as being occupied no different from Abkhazia and South Ossetia.[2][5] Furthermore, The party has made xenophobic statements towards Azerbaijanis, particularly during “Protect Gareji” protests.[5]

Foreign policy

Alliance of Patriots supports military neutrality, rejects the possibility of NATO membership, and welcomes warmer relations with Russia.[5][10] The party’s stance towards the EU has been described as soft Eurosceptic with some of its members even publicly supporting the country’s membership bid.[3][5]

The 2016 party manifesto officially declared pragmatic support for EU integration. However, analysts have noted a difference between what's officially stated in the party platform and the rhetoric used by party leaders, with them regularly criticizing the organization. The party leaders additionally question whether Georgia’s EU aspirations are worth the price the country pays in terms of alienating its northern neighbor.[3]

According to the party, joining NATO would make it impossible to normalize relations with the Russian Federation to solve disputes over Georgia's separatist Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions and restore Georgia's territorial integrity.[4][5] It emphasizes the low likelihood of the country’s NATO bid due to the large number of skeptical states.[3] The party is further against the establishment of a NATO military base in Georgia. The party tries to sell military neutrality by proposing to turn Georgia into the “Switzerland of the South Caucasus”.[5]

Alliance of Patriots has been widely described as a pro-Russian or pro-Kremlin party by analysts, media outlets, and scholars. Political organizations engage in the criticism as well with both pro-Western opposition parties (such as United National Movement) and the themselves Eurosceptic Georgian Dream government labeling that accusation against the group. The party, however, denies that accusation referring to themselves as “pro-Georgian”.[10] Malkhaz Topuria has stated that he had a panic attack after seeing him being labeled pro-Russian asking how can a person who fought against Russia in a war be pro-Russian.[22] Some analysts disagree with the “pro-Russia” label and prefer to call the party "Russia neutral".[2][10]

Links to Russia

Along with the party being commonly labeled as pro-Russian, allegations are widespread about both financial and political links between Alliance of Patriots and the Kremlin. The party leaders deny those claims.[5][11]

Alliance of Patriots has been accused of being under the influence of the Kremlin. The party is seen as having both financial assistance as well as political backing from Moscow.[29] The Russian analytical portal “Dossier” published documents that found direct financial links between the party and the Kremlin.[5] In response to the leaks, Georgian Dream government questioned the party’s self-proclaimed patriotism and the opposition United National Movement called for the ban of the party.[30][31]

Members of the party have on numerous occasions visited Moscow. The visits have been widely condemned by both the pro-Western opposition as well as the Eurosceptic Georgian Dream government officials.[32][33] Additionally, in August 2020, Irma Inashvili and Giorgi Lomia visited the occupied Abkhazia region and met with religious officials as well as people connected to the separatist Abkhaz leadership. The move has been justified by the party on religious grounds, claiming it to be a success.[5][34]

Television

The Alliance party has a television channel, Objective, run by Inashvili. Davit Tarkhan-Mouravi has a series on the channel in which he lectures on the Bible and Orthodox Christianity.[8]

Electoral performance

Parliamentary election

Election Leader Votes % Seats +/– Position Government
2016 Irma Inashvili 88,097 5.01
6 / 150
 new 3rd Opposition
2020 Irma Inashvili 60,480 3.14
4 / 150
 Decrease 2 6th Opposition

Local election

Election Votes % Seats +/–
2014[35] 66,805 4.72
47 / 2,088
 New
2017[18] 98,530 6.56
90 / 2,043
 Increase 43
2021[23] 25,697 1.46
5 / 2,068
 Decrease 85

Notes

  1. ^ Alt-Info, a Hard Eurosceptic group, is running on Alliance of Patriots' electoral list.

References

  1. ^ "Parties, Parliaments and Polling Averages – Georgia". Europe Elects.
  2. ^ a b c d Kucera, Joshua (24 October 2016). "Georgia: Disillusion with Establishment Fuels Rise of Populism". Eurasianet.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Givi Silagadze (May 2020). "Is Georgian Populism Eurosceptic?" (PDF). Georgian Institute of Politics.
  4. ^ a b Kakhishvili, Levan (2020). Georgian party political discourse on foreign policy non-alignment: How has the meaning changed since 1992? (PDF). Tbilisi, Georgia: Georgian Institute of Politics. In 2016, a small party, Alliance of Patriots of Georgia (APG) revived a discussion about Georgia's non alignment in foreign policy. However, the reasoning behind advocating for non-alignment is different from what was in the 1990s. The starting point of APG's reasoning is that Georgia has been trying to become a NATO member for almost two decades and has not yet been successful, which for APG is an indicator that the West is not planning to integrate Georgia under the security umbrella. Even if Georgia becomes a member of NATO, APG argues, it would mean to give up hope of restoration of territorial integrity.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Salome Kandelaki (6 May 2021). "Euroscepticism and Religion in Georgian Far-right Groups' Political Agenda". Georgian Institute of Politcs.
  6. ^ Tamta Gelashvili (10 July 2021). "Perspectives – Blame it on Russia? The danger of geopolitical takes on Georgia's far right". Eurasianet.
  7. ^ a b "Prevention of Far-Right Extremism in Georgia" (PDF). Democracy Research Institute. September 2021.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Local Elections Boost Alliance of Patriots' Ambitions for Parliamentary Polls" Archived 2016-10-13 at the Wayback Machine, Civil Georgia, 21 June 2014
  9. ^ a b "Georgia's Political Landscape". Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. 18 October 2021.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Silagadze, Givi (2021). Eurosceptic, therefore, Pro-Russian?. Tbilisi, Georgia: Georgian Institute of Politics.
  11. ^ a b "Investigation alleges Russian money behind political party in neighboring Georgia". Alliance for Securing Democracy.
  12. ^ Georgian Electoral Amendment Clears Early Hurdle, But Vote Concerns Persist Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 19 December 2015
  13. ^ Fuller, Liz (28 January 2015). "Georgian Court Releases Jailed Warlord". Radio Free Europe. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  14. ^ Tom Lansford (2015) Political Handbook of the World 2015, CQ Press
  15. ^ "Alliance of Patriots Forms 6-Party Bloc for Elections". Civil Georgia. 9 June 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  16. ^ "Summary Protocol of the Central Election Commission of Georgia on the Final Results of 8 October 2016 Parliamentary Elections of Georgia" (PDF). CESKO. 16 November 2016.
  17. ^ "Alliance of Patriots Rallies, Wants NDI, IRI Banned in Georgia". Civil Georgia. 27 January 2020.
  18. ^ a b Election results 2017 archiveresults.cec.gov.ge
  19. ^ "Facebook removes inauthentic network connected to Georgian pro-Kremlin party". Medium. 6 November 2020.
  20. ^ a b "Parliament suspends status of three MPs of pro-Russian Alliance of Patriots". Agenda.ge. 4 January 2021.
  21. ^ "Former Alliance of Patriots MPs Launch 'European Socialists' Party". Civil Georgia. 10 January 2021.
  22. ^ a b "ალტ-ინფოსა და პატრიოტთა ალიანსის გაერთიანება - ზურაბ მახარაძე, მალხაზ თოფურია და ვახო მეგრელიშვილი". Girchi • გირჩი. 2 July 2024.
  23. ^ a b "Არჩევნების შედეგები".
  24. ^ "Georgia's Alt Info to run in elections with Alliance of Patriots". OC Media. 11 June 2024.
  25. ^ Alliance of Patriots of Georgia, Party's Page, archived from the original on 13 October 2016, retrieved 22 July 2018
  26. ^ "Pre-election rhetoric of far-right political entities on social media". Democracy Research Institute. 1 October 2021.
  27. ^ a b Cecire, Michael (9 March 2015). "The Kremlin pulls on Georgia". Foreign Policy.
  28. ^ a b "Georgia: the Populist Break-in". Civil Georgia. 16 November 2016.
  29. ^ "Russian Watchdog: Kremlin Interferes in Georgia Polls, Aids Alliance of Patriots". Civil Georgia. 25 August 2020.
  30. ^ "Ruling party MP: the Alliance of Patriots party – but what kind of patriots are they?". Agenda.ge. 1 September 2020.
  31. ^ "Opposition demands Alliance of Patriots of Georgia be banned from October elections due to alleged Kremlin support". Agenda.ge. 25 August 2020.
  32. ^ "Alliance of Patriots sends three MPs to Moscow to 'enhance relations' between Georgia and Russia". Democracy & Freedom Watch. 13 July 2019.
  33. ^ "Moscow visit of Alliance of Patriots party over Georgian neutrality "unacceptable" - ruling party Secretary General". Agenda.ge. 7 April 2022.
  34. ^ Inal Khashig (29 August 2020). "Op-Ed: what was achieved with the staged trip of Georgian politicians to Abkhazia?". Jam News.
  35. ^ Election results 2014 archiveresults.cec.gov.ge

External links

Retrieved from "https://mdwiki.org/wiki/Alliance_of_Patriots_of_Georgia"