Who is Mikhail Kavelashvili, possible future president of Georgia? | EUROtoday

EWhen typing his identify right into a search engine, he seems as “Georgian international footballer”, flanked for instance by his FC Basel jersey, the place he spent a brief season earlier than the top of his profession. But, very quickly, it’s not for his (relative) expertise with the ball that Mikhail Kavelashvili will probably be greatest recognized. Having grow to be a politician, the Georgian ought to grow to be the subsequent president of his nation on Saturday December 14.

Aged 53, Mikhail Kavelashvili dangers seizing energy, in a rustic torn by demonstrations in opposition to authoritarian abuses. At the middle of this political recreation, the Georgian Dream occasion, an amorphous combination of assorted beliefs, claiming to be liberal and heart left, advocating a rapprochement with the West or the EU, however can simply as simply collude with ideologies far proper.

ALSO READ Georgia: “The protest movement will get tougher” It is on this occasion that Mikhail Kavelashvili reduce his political enamel, after his retirement from sports activities. Elected deputy in 2016, he was re-elected in 2020. In the Georgian Parliament, Mikhail Kavelashvili aligns himself with political beliefs near the far-right, linked to nationwide id or the promotion of the “purity of traditional values ​​of Georgians” against what he describes as “putrid liberal fascism” imposed by the West. According to him, “LGBTQ ideology supposedly defends the weak, but actually opposes humanity.”

The hand of billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili

In 2022, he left his party and founded Power to the People, whose ideology is tinged with deep anti-Americanism and anti-Westernism. The movement is at the origin of a law on “foreign influence” adopted last May. The text notably requires that NGOs and media organizations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad register as “organizations pursuing the interests of a foreign power”, under penalty of a fine. A similar law, targeting “foreign agents”, has already been applied in Russia since 2012.

Considered a satellite of Georgian Dream, Power to the People is allying itself with the latter for the legislative elections of October 2024, where it obtains six seats and where Georgian Dream obtains more than half. Mikhail Kavelashvili keeps his. Patiently climbing the ranks, he was designated, on November 27, candidate of the Georgian Dream. He owes everything to one man: the billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, who founded the party and who has led the country from behind the scenes since 2012 and the creation of the movement. Close to Russian power, he described his foal as “the incarnation of the Georgian man”, “honest” and “patriotic”.

ALSO READ “We must prevent Georgian leaders from laundering their money across borders” The President of Georgia is elected indirectly by an electoral college of 300 elected officials, made up of deputies and representatives of regional and municipal councils. A Georgian dream with a majority in this college, the election of Mikhail Kavelashvili leaves little doubt. “I will do everything to unite Georgian society around our national interests, our national identity, our values ​​and the idea of ​​Georgian independence,” assured the former footballer, who is easily recognized by his mustache and his slicked back hair, combed back.

The president refuses to leave power

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Kangaroo of the day

Answer

President Salomé Zourabichvili, the final to be elected by common suffrage earlier than the constitutional reform of 2017, rejected the outcomes of the legislative elections and refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of parliament, seeing in it the hand of Moscow. She additionally refused to attend the opening session of parliament, as did the opposition events.

ALSO READ In Abkhazia, “it is our sovereignty that we risk losing” The nearly sure arrival of Mikhail Kavelashvili to energy will due to this fact happen in a deleterious ambiance. Certainly, as soon as elected, Mikhail Kavelashvili will solely have symbolic powers. But Salomé Zourabichvili refuses to depart energy. The nation is being hit by ever-increasing demonstrations. Thirteen Western international locations, together with France and Germany, denounce “the violation of international rules” and demand “an impartial investigation”. By eager to drive his method by means of, does the previous striker threat in a short time placing himself offside?