The Daily Dispatch – June 17

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UP IN THE AIR Parliamentary elections. Not long ago, we got wind of Georgian Dream’s plan B to put off October polls if a much-feared second wave of pandemic strikes. It may well be that the ruling party was just testing the waters. Chances of that happening are almost nil, maintained PM Gakharia, patting himself on the back for handling the initial outbreak of Covid-19. Usually leery opposition smells a rat. Is all this flip-flopping part of GD’s pre-election ploy?

WE KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER Georgian youths of the “Shame” movement have been putting up stencils with this inscription to remind PM Gakharia of 20 June 2019, when protests against the presence of the Russian delegation in the Georgian parliament were crushed by the police using tear gas and rubber bullets. The Parliament Chair Irakli Kobakhidze lost his job then (but as you know from our dispatches, he’s none the wiser), but Mr. Gakharia held on – at a significant cost to his reputation that he hopes to have re-burnished by handling the pandemic. Did it work? We’ll see on 20 June, when opposition plans protest.

NEW BLOOD UK has named career diplomat Marc Clayton as its new ambassador to Georgia. Clayton, who has years of experience negotiating Russia under his belt, will try to recharge bilateral relations after Britain left the EU – a club Georgia yearns to join. The new envoy is expected to take up office in August this year.

…Meanwhile, Georgian colonel landed a top brass job. Roman Jokhadze, a serviceman with a diplomatic background (previously held the job of Defense Attache), will take the helm of the Georgian National Guard. Godspeed!

BELLWETHER STUDY A number of critical issues have been put on the back burner due the pandemic. A UNDP-commissioned report, published recently, casts new light on problems of gender equality in Georgia – once deemed a political hot potato. While there’s still a long way to go before achieving some level of parity, a sizable shift in attitudes is clear. Number of respondents who consider men to be more deft political leaders than women has dropped to 49 % (from 61 % in 2013). Six-in-ten Georgians subscribed to the view that “the country would benefit if women were more involved to politics” (an increase by 10 percentage points). In the meantime, other forms of prejudice, like homophobia, remain deeply entrenched. Nature makes no leaps, but bit by bit, Georgians are becoming more open-minded.

OTD 1920 – CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE Hundred years ago, Georgia was in the thick of war, fending off the Bolshevik foe from the east – newly Sovietized Azerbaijan – and the North. There, insurgents were up in arms in Tskhinvali region, already a tinderbox, spurred on by the Communist party bosses of their northern kin. Georgian leadership showed that the Republic was getting on its feet. Having defeated the invading Soviet Army from the East, the troops were sent to Tskhinvali and Java, which heavy-handedly quelled the riot. A peace deal was struck with Azerbaijan on 16 June, bringing about much sought respite.

Stories of the Georgian Democratic Republic are brought to you by our project Republic-100. You can see their English language website, or follow more stories on Georgian-language Facebook page.

That’s full lid for today!