Georgia’s ruling party official labels EU Ambassador a “mouthpiece”, says Georgian Dream holds no personal grudge

Irakli Kirtskhalia, the chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party faction in the legislative body, on Monday said the ruling party had “nothing personal” against Paweł Herczyński, the EU ambassador to Georgia, or others, describing them as “mouthpieces” of instructions and message boxes they receive.

Kirtskhalia’s comments came after Herczyński stated that “Georgia and its warm and hospitable people” must not be allowed to slip back into a period marked by “violence, civil conflict, poverty, hardship, and corruption”.

In his remarks, Kirtskhalia noted that statements like those made by Herczyński were “offensive,” though not new for Georgian society, arguing that what he described as “brazen and insulting rhetoric” from certain diplomatic representatives has become familiar to both the public and the authorities.

“Unfortunately, such arrogant and insulting rhetoric is not new for our society, our government, or our country. In a way, Georgian society has been conditioned to this brazenness and impudence, whether it comes from the EU ambassador or representatives of various diplomatic missions. Of course, I do not mean every country, and the public does not need much explanation as to which countries and which names I am referring to”, Kirtskhalia said.

“What should surprise us about this person? I will remind the public what statement he made just a few hours after the prime minister’s remarks - what a theater of absurdity he presented to society, a reality based on false perceptions”, he continued.

He further alleged that certain diplomats were directly involved in pre-election processes during both parliamentary and local elections, including publicly encouraging support for specific political parties.

“Given such a background in Mr. Herczyński statements and actions, it is no surprise that he has returned to the same rhetoric today. They have crossed all moral boundaries in their host country. Most importantly, they must clearly understand - and they do understand this, which is what irritates and angers them - that society has seen their true face: who they really are, what force they represent, and where they are trying to lead our country. This course directly means involvement in war”, he noted.

“Society made a very clear choice during both parliamentary and local elections. They cannot accept this, so they come out and brazenly carry out brazen instructions. We have nothing personal against Herczynski or others; they are simply messengers of the instructions and message boxes they receive. They are mouthpieces of these messages, as well as those who pass instructions to the agent networks currently operating in the country in the form of the collective United National Movement”, Kirtskhalia concluded.