Useful Idiots, Again

The news hit like a thunderbolt: Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze, two of Georgia’s most prominent opposition politicians, were pardoned on September 5, 2025, by none other than “President” Mikheil Kavelashvili. The quotation marks are no accident – Kavelashvili is a pure product of the Georgian Dream machinery, the party that has spent years turning the state into the stage set of one man alone: Bidzina Ivanishvili.

The pardon was not a gesture of reconciliation, but a calculated move. And it says more about the nature of Georgian “democracy” than a thousand campaign speeches ever could.

Manipulation as Statecraft

Khazaradze himself called it out: “What the so-called president did today is legal nonsense – manipulation with people’s freedom.” One could hardly put it more bluntly. Just in June, both politicians were sentenced to eight months in prison for refusing to appear before a hand-picked parliamentary commission. And now, suddenly, they walk free. Coincidence? Hardly.The timing is far too obvious. The day before, registration for the local elections had ended. And lo and behold: the very party whose leaders were behind bars – “Lelo – Strong Georgia” – can now officially stand as a candidate. What a “coincidence” that Kavelashvili discovered the generosity of the presidency at precisely this moment.

Rustaveli Protests: Hope or Farce?

Only weeks ago, many on Rustaveli Avenue had hoped this moment would finally open eyes. That Khazaradze and Japaridze would realize how toxic it is to take part in the electoral circus – and declare a boycott. But no. Instead, they continue to play along – obedient, predictable, useful.And so it must be said plainly: anyone who takes part in this staged show becomes a useful idiot. A harsh term, but nothing else describes the role of those opposition figures who stabilize the system by parading it as “pluralism” for the outside world.

Elections as “Squid Game”

The analogy is familiar, but it fits better than ever. Georgian elections are a Squid Game: the opposition is allowed to participate, fight each other, win a few seats. But the rules are set by the organizers – the regime. And in the end, the winner is always the same.The opposition hopes that a council seat here, a mayor’s post there, will make a difference. But anyone who witnessed Tbilisi 2021 knows the truth: even when the opposition wins, ministries block budgets, officials undermine mayors, projects are frozen. Victory means nothing here. Except: legitimizing the regime.

“We must use all battlefields” – really?

Particularly cynical is the mantra repeated by opposition parties: “We must use all battlefields.”What “battlefields”? Who defines the rules of these fields? Who controls the referees?It is like entering a chess game where the opponent holds twice the pieces and your pawns can be arrested at any moment. A fight? No – a farce.

A Gift for the Regime

One thing must not be overlooked: for the Georgian government, elections are no risk at all – they are a gift. They provide the perfect backdrop to showcase “democracy” to Western partners. As long as the opposition takes part, Georgian Dream can point to the ballot boxes and say: “Look, everyone is allowed to run!”International partners see the ritual, hear the “pluralist voices,” and are reassured. Sanctions are avoided, aid keeps flowing. And the regime laughs all the way.

What would be the alternative?

Of course, the question arises: what if the opposition collectively boycotted? Would the system collapse? Certainly not overnight. But it would be exposed. The show would be ruined. The international community would have to talk about the farce.Boycott is not surrender. Boycott is an act of delegitimization. Everything else is simply playing a game that has already been lost.

Opposition in Service of the Oligarch

Khazaradze and Japaridze have recognized their pardon not as a gift, but as a trap – and yet chose to play along. Rustaveli protests or not, lofty rhetoric or not: whoever continues to dance on the electoral stage legitimizes the oligarch and his system.And so we are left to say it in the sharpest possible terms: this kind of “opposition” is no alternative, but a tragicomic role as extras. Useful idiots, exactly what the regime needs to disguise itself as a democracy.