Georgian Dream (political coalition)

For the main party in the alliance, see Georgian Dream.
Georgian Dream
ქართული ოცნება
AbbreviationGD
LeaderBidzina Ivanishvili (2012-2013)
Irakli Garibashvili (2013-2015)
Giorgi Kvirikashvili (2015-2016)
FounderBidzina Ivanishvili
Founded21 February 2012
Dissolved31 March 2016
HeadquartersTbilisi, Georgia
IdeologyBig tent[1]
Pro-Europeanism[2]
Factions:
Liberalism[3]
National conservatism[4]
Protectionism[5]
Neutralism[6]
Russophilia[7]
Political positionSyncretic
Former constituent partiesGeorgian Dream - Democratic Georgia (GD-DG)
Our Georgia – Free Democrats (OG – FD)
Republican Party of Georgia (RPG)
Conservative Party of Georgia (CPG)
Industry Will Save Georgia (IWSG)
National Forum (NF)
Supported by:
Greens Party of Georgia (GPG)
People's Party (PP)
Social Democrats for the Development of Georgia (SDDG)
Colors  Blue and   Amber

Georgian Dream (Georgian: ქართული ოცნება, romanized: kartuli otsneba) was a catch-all political alliance in Georgia formed around Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia (GD – DG) party in opposition to the then-ruling United National Movement (UNM) party. The coalition was formed in 2012 with it winning the parliamentary election held in the same year. The alliance was dissolved in 2016 after which GD – DG went on to win 2016 and 2020 parliamentary elections independently.

The coalition initially included six political parties of diverse ideological orientations.[8][9] The parties ranged from pro-market and pro-Western liberals to nationalists and protectionists, united in their dislike of Mikheil Saakashvili and UNM.[10][11] The alliance was further supported by 3 other parties who while formally not a part of the coalition ran their candidates on Georgian Dream list.

  1. ^ Lomsadze, Giorgi (28 October 2013). "Georgia: Looking at Post-Election Twists". Eurasianet.
  2. ^ "Georgia: political parties and the EU" (PDF). European Parliamentary Research Service. If GD and UNM seem to be in opposition over domestic subjects, they are unanimous about EU issues. Georgia's Parliament adopted, on 7 March 2013, a resolution, drafted jointly by GD and UNM, which reiterated the country's commitment to the pro-European and pro-Western foreign policy course. The resolution, passed unanimously by Parliament, states that integration into the European and Euro-Atlantic structures represents the country's overarching foreign policy priority.
  3. ^ "Georgian Dream Coalition: Fragile Unity". The Jamestown. 17 January 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2024. Two of the coalition members—RP and OGFD—are formally liberal parties, with declared pro-Western foreign policy orientations. RP is led by Speaker of the Parliament David Usupashvili. OGFD is led by Minister of Defense Irakli Alasania. Regardless of their ideological closeness these two parties tried but failed to establish an enduring political coalition in the past (www.interpressnews.ge, June 16, 2010).
  4. ^ "Georgian Dream Coalition: Fragile Unity". The Jamestown. 17 January 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2024. GD also includes the nationalist Conservative Party, led by Zviad Dzidziguri, a former loyalist of the overthrown Georgian President Zviad Gamsakhurdia (1991–1992)
  5. ^ MacFarlane, Neil; Jones, Stephen (2020). Georgia: From Autocracy to Democracy. University of Toronto Press. p. 213. ISBN 9781487507855.
  6. ^ "Georgian Dream Coalition: Fragile Unity". The Jamestown. 17 January 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2024. NF opposes Georgia's NATO membership, advocating neutrality. The coalition's sixth member, Industry Will Save Georgia (IWSG), led by the beer magnate Gogi Topadze, also resists Georgia's NATO membership.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference russophilia was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Elections Guide". Civil Georgia. 30 September 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  9. ^ de Waal, Thomas (11 September 2012). "A Crucial Election in Georgia". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Archived from the original on 26 September 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  10. ^ de Waal, Thomas (26 September 2012). "Georgia Holds Its Breath". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  11. ^ Linderman, Laura (2013). Six Months of Georgian Dreams: The State of Play and Ways Forward (PDF). Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 February 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2022. Irakli Alasania's Our Georgia Free Democrats (OGFD) and the Republican Party, led by brothers David and Levan Berdzenishvili and the husband-and-wife team of Davit Usupashvili and Tina Khidasheli, are two prominent, liberal parties in the coalition with a strong, pro-Western foreign policy orientation. Other members include the nationalist Conservative Party, led by Zviad Dzidziguri, a loyalist of former President Zviad Gamsakhurdia; the National Forum (NF), which includes former high-ranking Shevardnadzeera bureaucrats; and the Industrialists. These parties are united in their dislike of Saakashvili and the UNM and have limited political prospects individually.