Former FC Sion player installed as president of Georgia

Georgia invested a new president on Sunday, contested in the streets but loyal to power unlike the outgoing head of state, a new episode in a political crisis underway for weeks, marked by large-scale pro-European demonstrations. .

Mikheïl Kavelashvili, former footballer (read framed) known for his ultraconservative and anti-Western positions, was sworn in in Parliament to succeed Salomé Zourabichvili, a supporter of the protest. He was elected on December 14 by an electoral college controlled by the ruling Georgian Dream party.

“Our history clearly shows that after countless struggles to defend our homeland and traditions, peace has always been one of the main goals and values ​​of the Georgian people,” Kavelashvili said in his speech, while his camp presents itself as a bulwark against the West which would like to drag Tbilisi into the war between Russia and Ukraine. He also called for respect for “our traditions, our values, our national identity, the sanctity of the family and the faith”.

Former footballer Mikheil Kavelashvili is well known in Switzerland. He was loaned by Manchester City to Grasshopper for the 97/98 and 98/99 seasons, scoring around twenty goals in 74 matches. The striker then signed for FC Zurich (32 wins in 99 games) between 1999 and 2002. Kavelashvili wore the colors of other Swiss clubs (Lucerne, Sion, Aarau and Basel), with less success. The left-hander arrived free in Valais in July 2003, but only played 10 Challenge League matches (6 goals) before leaving for Aar at the start of 2004. He returned for six months to Tourbillon in January 2005, without playing just one minute of play.

A few minutes earlier, after leaving suspense hanging over her intentions, the outgoing president had finally announced to leave the presidential palace, while still calling herself the “only legitimate president” of the country and promising to continue the fight.

“I remain the only legitimate president of Georgia,” she declared to a crowd of supporters. “I will leave the presidential palace to stand by your side, carrying with me the legitimacy, the flag and your trust,” she added.

At least 2,000 people gathered Sunday morning in front of this building, and chanted “Georgia” and “Salomé” before this speech, according to AFP journalists.

Georgia, a country in the Caucasus and the former USSR, has been in turmoil since the legislative elections of October 26, won by the Georgian Dream party, in power since 2012, but denounced as rigged by the pro-Western opposition . They, their supporters in the street and Zourabichvili are demanding a new election.

The situation was exacerbated on November 28 when Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidzé announced that he would postpone his country’s EU integration efforts until 2028, triggering daily pro-European demonstrations which have not stopped since and which bring together thousands of people.

With the departure of Zourabichvili, the demonstrators lose their main support within the institutions. Although limited by restricted prerogatives, the outgoing president gave all her support to the streets and used her influence, particularly internationally, to increase pressure on the Georgian Dream and try to obtain the organization of new legislative elections. , which the government continues to refuse.