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International crisis group prepares report â€œGeorgia: Securing a Stable Futureâ€

13 December 2010 16:08 (UTC +04:00)

The document reads that Georgia has maintained political and economic stability despite the shock of the 2008 war with Russia: â€œBut the government needs to use the two years before the next elections to create public trust in democratic institutions by engaging in meaningful dialogue with the opposition over further reformsâ€.

The report reads that over the past two years, the government has done important reforms in the judiciary and the media, but more is needed to build public confidence in institutions.
â€œMany Georgians still perceive the judiciary to be dependent on the executive branch and overly respectful of the prosecution. The media is deeply polarized along political lines. The generous $4.5 billion Georgia received from international partners over three years to help post-war recovery is running out. With large repayments due in 2012-2013, Tbilisi is likely to face substantial challenges to cover the foreign debt and the trade deficit, just as the next election cycle begins, especially if there is no increase in foreign direct investment and exports.â€

Sabine Freizer, Crisis Groupâ€™s Europe Program Director thinks that the government will be under much political and economic pressure in the coming years as it plans Georgiaâ€™s first democratic change of leadership since independence in 1991: â€œFaithful implementation of reforms would end the countryâ€™s revolutionary period, secure the governmentâ€™s domestic legitimacy and help guarantee continued international political and financial supportâ€.