Georgia is on the verge of a coup

After the opposition and a number of NGOs in the centre of Tbilisi demanded the resignation of the government due to the failure of Georgia's accession to the EU, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Irakli Kobakhidze, again accused the protesters of trying to seize power.

But there are a lot of oddities in the situation.

Indeed, several thousand people gathered in Tbilisi for the action “To home in Europe". And the demands to dismiss Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili actually voiced. But then most of the rally participants left the city centre.

Why, then, Kobakhidze's accusations?

Here we must remember that such accusations were made for the first time at the end of May. And the same Kobakhidze claimed then that the opposition United National Movement would opt for a coup "at the end of June, but only if Georgia does not receive the status of an EU candidate."

The status was not received, but the coup did not take place. But Georgian Dream itself stated that it was creating ... working groups — "in order to fulfil the 12 conditions of the European Union." Moreover, it called for negotiations with the opposition on this topic.

That's what it’s all about. Working groups with the participation of functionaries of the ruling party and the opposition can declare themselves a provisional government — and eliminate the current cabinet by a coup. But not a street coup - an apparatus one.

It is no coincidence that Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili called on the authorities and the opposition to "abandon the confrontation and unite in the fight against challenges at a turning point in history for all”. She also openly talks about the possibility of a "change of power via the people”.

Right now, behind-the-scenes negotiations are taking place in Tbilisi: another "historical moment" may come in the country from day to day.

Elena Panina, Director of the RUSSTRAT Institute