European Socialists ( ka, ევროპელი სოციალისტები, tr) is a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. The party was founded on January 9, 2021, by four MPs who separated from the

right-wing populist Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right populism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics with populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti- elitist sentiments, opposition to the Establishm ...

Alliance of Patriots. It did not participate in the 2024 parliamentary election, however, it is represented in the 11th convocation of Parliament of Georgia by 3 MPs who broke away from the ruling

Georgian Dream Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia (GD), also colloquially known as the Kotsebi, is a Conservatism, conservative and populism, populist List of political parties in Georgia (country), political party in Georgia (country), Georgia, which has ...

party. While nominally independent from Georgian Dream, European Socialists advanced the ruling party's agenda and have been described as pro-ruling party or as its proxy. The party has supported the "foreign agent bill", anti-LGBT policies, and other controversial initiatives of Georgian Dream.

History

In 2020 parliamentary election, Alliance of Patriots, a

and anti-Western party, received 3.14% of the vote electing 4 deputies through the party list. However, the party along with the rest of the opposition claimed that the results were fabricated and therefore refused to enter the parliament, launching

protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...

against the government. Irma Inashvili, Gocha Tevdoradze, and Giorgi Lomia suspended their MP status, however, the party as a whole did not cancel the entire party list, which allowed Avtandil Enukidze, Davit Zilpimiani, Gela Mikadze, and Pridon Injia to keep their mandates and enter the parliament. They soon left Alliance of Patriots and established European Socialists, formally rejecting their former party's Euroscepticism and support for military neutrality, declaring a Euro-Atlantic agenda. Alliance of Patriots has referred to the move as a "betrayal" and described their name as "cynical", stating that a party of "4 millionaires can not be

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

". The party ran in the 2021 local elections. It got 0.15% nationwide with almost the entirety of its vote being concentrated in

Martvili Martvili ( ka, მარტვილი) is a small town in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti province of Western Georgia. Its monastery was Samegrelo's clerical centre in the Middle Ages. Under Soviet rule, from 1936 to 1990, it was named Gegechkori after ...

. There it elected 4 MPs getting 6%. The party managed to elect another MP in Kazbegi. In 2024, European Socialists supported the controversial 'foreign agents bill' that led to the widespread

. The party’s registration to run in the 2024 parliamentary election was rejected by the Election Administration of Georgia due to the party failing to provide 25,000 signatures before the 1 August deadline. Ilia Injia, the son of the party leader Fridon Injia became a Georgian Dream candidate on its electoral list. In February 2025, three MPs — Ilia Injia,

Varlam Liparteliani Varlam Liparteliani (; born 27 February 1989) is a Georgian retired judoka. He has won silver at Olympic and World level. Career Liparteliani competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the 90 kg event and lost in the second round to Mark An ...

, and Nika Elisashvili — left the ruling Georgian Dream faction and formed European Socialists faction. According to Injia, the group views itself as fulfilling the role of a "healthy opposition," while maintaining a consistent, principled stance toward "radical opposition groups". He further stated that the group's goal is to "prevent UNM's revanchism" and to "keep the country from returning to its dark past."

Ideology

Despite the party's name projecting a

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

pro-European Pro-Europeanism, sometimes called European Unionism, is a political position that favours European integration and membership of the European Union (EU).Krisztina Arató, Petr Kaniok (editors). ''Euroscepticism and European Integration''. Pol ...

image, their so-called ''proto-Western'' name is considered by some analysts a deliberate disguise from their real color as a

pro-Russian Russophilia is the identification or solidarity with, appreciation of, or support for the Russia, country, Russians, people, Russian language, language, and history of Russia. One who espouses Russophilia is called a russophile. Its Opposite ...

and anti-Western party. The party is also described as

centre-left Centre-left politics is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. Ideologies commonly associated with it include social democracy, social liberalism, progressivism, and green politics. Ideas commo ...

populist Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

or a

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

Trojan Horse In Greek mythology, the Trojan Horse () was a wooden horse said to have been used by the Greeks during the Trojan War to enter the city of Troy and win the war. The Trojan Horse is not mentioned in Homer, Homer's ''Iliad'', with the poem ending ...

. The party is frequently described as

and anti-Western, with

Europe Elects Europe Elects is a political intelligence company and poll aggregator. It is credited for being the first of two platforms to publish permanent European Parliament seat projections, a work which commenced in 2014. Genesis and history Europe ...

seeing the party as being "somewhat opposed to EU integration". Myth Detector has further labeled the comments made by the party as

xenophobic Xenophobia (from (), 'strange, foreign, or alien', and (), 'fear') is the fear or dislike of anything that is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression that is based on the perception that a conflict exists between an in-gr ...

. The party is also described as having a "tendency towards

authoritarianism Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...

". The party is also against "LGBT propaganda" claiming that unhealthy propaganda’ should be countered with ‘healthy propaganda, not legal mechanisms’. It is widely labeled a pro-Government party or its proxy.

Electoral performance

Local election

References

{{Georgian political parties 2021 establishments in Georgia (country) Eurosceptic parties Political parties established in 2021 Centre-left parties in Georgia (country) Eastern Orthodox political parties Populist parties Conservative parties in Georgia (country) Russophilic parties in Georgia (country) Anti-gender movement Anti-LGBTQ Christian organizations Opposition to same-sex marriage in Europe Opposition to same-sex marriage in Asia Organizations that oppose LGBTQ rights in Georgia Anti-LGBTQ sentiment in Asia Anti-LGBTQ sentiment in Europe Nationalist parties in Georgia (country)