The political crisis in Georgia erupted quickly, with the Western-leaning defense minister dismissed and the foreign minister and the minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration resigning in swift succession. Ten deputies have left the ruling Georgian Dream coalition, costing it its parliamentary majority and leaving the country's political map in disarray.
But is it all bad news? Is it a logical response to longstanding divisions in the ruling coalition? Does the turmoil enable new political options and alliances in advance of Georgia's next general elections in 2016?
RFE/RL Senior Editor for Europe Brian Whitmore and Georgian Service Director David Kakabadze discuss what's behind the shake-up, and what it means for Georgia looking ahead.
RFE/RLive: Georgia's Political Crisis
Watch on demand at YouTube and Google+
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Washington - 11:00 AM / Prague - 5:00 PM
Watch the discussion here:
David Kakabadze -- Director of RFE/RL’s Georgian Service since 2005, a tenure during which he founded Ekho Kavkaza, a broadcast program to audiences in the break-away regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and led the service's transition to digital platforms and TV. Kakabadze joined RFE/RL in 1993 when it was headquartered in Munich, and worked as an editor in the Georgian Service for many years. Read Kakabadze's analysis of the crisis for rferl.org, "Crisis Upsets Georgia's Political Balance, Perhaps For The Better."
Brian Whitmore -- Europe Desk Editor for RFE/RL's Central Newsroom and author of "The Power Vertical" blog.