Michael Roth, the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the German Parliament, spoke to media in Tbilisi. He said that Western countries made a mistake when they assessed Georgian Dream.
Roth said that Western leaders thought Georgian Dream was like them – democratic and progressive. But they were wrong. The party was controlled by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a rich businessman.
The West gave Georgian Dream a chance to join their group of social democratic parties. Roth said he was one of the first to say no because he realized that Ivanishvili’s control over the party was not good for democracy or European values.
Roth admitted that Western countries failed to understand how Georgian Dream worked and who really ran it. He said this was a mistake, but also a lesson learned.