Conservative Movement (Georgia)

Conservative Movement/Alt-Info (კონსერვატიული მოძრაობა/ალტ-ინფო) was a political party in Georgia. It was founded in 2021 and was closely aligned with the Alt-Info television channel.

History


Members of Alt-Info founded a political party in late 2021. The party was named Conservative Movement and was registered by the National Public Registry Agency on December 7. The founding congress was held on November 20, 2021. On April 11, 2022, the name of the party was changed to Conservative Movement/Alt Info.

On July 2, 2022, the party organized the demonstration against the pride parade and European integration in response to a pro-EU demonstration in Tbilisi asking the European Council to grant Georgia the status of a candidate for accession.

In September 2023, the party founded the "Anti-Maidan movement" in Georgia to counter an alleged plan of Western-funded groups and Ukraine-based Georgian politicians to stage a coup in Georgia.

On April 11, 2024, the Georgian Public Registry revoked the registration of the Conservative Movement as a valid and legal political party. The decision came after the anti-corruption bureau investigated the Conservative Movement and discovered several irregularities in the party's operation.

On June 10, 2024, Alt Info announced they had reached an agreement with the Alliance of Patriots to run in the October parliamentary elections through their electoral list, thus bypassing the authorities’ de-registration of their own political wing.

Political positions
During its founding congress, the members of the Conservative Movement declared as its main goals was to build an alternative party to both the governing Georgian Dream and opposition United National Movement, two largest and most influential forces in the Georgian politics, establish Christian democracy instead of liberal democracy in Georgia, and pursue closer relations with Russia.

The party viewed Georgia's socio-economic problems as relating to Georgia's strained relationship with the Russian Federation. The party maintained that the only realistic plan for Georgia to restore control over its Russian-backed breakaway regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, was to normalize the relations with the Russian Federation. The party claimed that Georgia would benefit from being an ally of Russia and joining the Eurasian Economic Union. In contrast, joining the European Union and NATO are unfeasible objectives because of unwillingness of NATO and EU to confront Russia because of Georgia, illustrated by their passiveness during the 2008 Russo-Georgian War. Moreover, according to the party, the spread of Western liberal values in Georgia is a threat to Georgian identity and nationhood. On the other hand, the Orthodox Christian Russia is a natural ally of Georgia in preservation of its Orthodox Christian identity and countering Western globalist, pervasive and liberal values.

Alt-Info has been distinguished from similar movements by its readiness to use violence in order to achieve political goals. Its leader Zura Makharadze stated that "I can and plan to defend my values, including with force [...] I am ready to act with force against this [pride parade]". According to the movement, it is justified to use violence to combat "decadent liberalism" which threatens Georgian nation.

The party claims that liberalism and democracy are contradictory and opposes liberal democracy. According to the party, Georgian democracy should be based on Orthodox Christianity which was historically pillar of the identity of Georgian people. "This involves the Christian democracy, a democracy scopes of which will be based on fundamental basis of Christian morality", according to the party.

The party's economic policy is protectionist. It supports the nationalization of natural resources and the protection of local production.

It has been seen as paralleling a rise of alt-right in the Western countries due its use of similar rhetoric.

Leadership
The party was led by the chair. The last chairman was Giorgi Kardava.

Party chairs

 * Zurab Makharadze (2021–2022)
 * Giorgi Kardava (2022–2024)