Despite the fact that only a short period of time has elapsed since the Georgian parliamentary elections that gave an unexpected victory to the Georgian Dream coalition, led by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, concerns about the new government have been raised in both domestic and international circles.

Ivanishvili attracted a great deal of popular support by promising that the people’s work and efforts would be honored properly, but the expectations and demands this created have led to turmoil and upheaval in the country. People agreed that Mikheil Saakashvili had failed to adequately administer the aftermath of the Rose Revolution and that living conditions had worsened since then, so many people decided to support a different candidate who offered bold promises. Now, however, due to the coalition government’s failure to honor those pre-election promises, workers and prison inmates have resorted to strikes in protest.

Prison strikes: The first of a series of protest strikes is an ongoing hunger strike in Ksani prison. An estimated 2,000 or more inmates are participating in the strike to protest prison conditions, and 15 inmates sewed their mouths closed. Hunger strikes are also being held in other prisons to demand a change in the prison administration, which has been accused of abusive behavior.

Drivers are also holding protests: The protest of 1,400 yellow bus drivers that started on Nov. 8 still negatively affects transportation in Tbilisi. The drivers want to draw attention to their working conditions and to their salaries, and have announced that they will continue to protest unless their 16 demands are met. Among their requests, the drivers are asking the government to raise their wages. The national government, however, stresses that the increase is at the discretion of the Tbilisi Municipality, administered by Giorgi Ugulava from the United National Movement (UNM), led by Saakashvili. The protestors are asking for Ugulava’s removal from office, but with this move they contradict themselves because Ugulava has attempted to communicate with the current government in an effort to address the drivers’ problems. Ugulava, elected mayor of Tbilisi in the 2010 elections, is also seeking solutions to ensure that the current government provides operating funds to the municipality.

Metro workers may go on strike: Underground Transportation Union President Giorgi Khitalishvili has noted the metro workers had forwarded a list of 12 demands to the city council as well and stressed that they would start a massive strike in support of the drivers’ protests in the event their demands are not addressed.

1,600 mine workers continue to protest: At a coal mining site run by the Gruzugol Company in the Imereti region, 1,600 workers continue to suspend their operations in protest of the recent decision to reduce salaries and lay off workers. A local parliament deputy, Eliso Capidze, Georgian Dream member of Parliament David Bezhuashvili and parliamentarian and partner in the Georgian Industrial Group Gia Zhorzholiani are trying to bring the laborers and the mine administration together to find a reasonable solution. The Gruzugol Company, which runs the mining site, is a partner in the Georgian Industrial Group.

A deal has been made with the Poti Seaport workers: The Poti port workers who stopped work demanding a raise in their salaries have made a deal with Economy Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili. Under the agreement, the salaries of the port workers will be raised by 20 percent effective Dec 1.

Employment struggle expected to negatively affect foreign policy: The power struggle between the municipalities and local administrations over employment opportunities continues. The former interior minister, chief of general staff and a top commander have all been arrested. Footage of incidents of torture in prison was aired on television, and demonstrations demanding accountability for the officers responsible affected public opinion ahead of the 2012 elections. Former Interior Minister Bacho Akhalaia was held responsible for these incidents of torture and was arrested for misconduct, as were Chief of Staff Giorgi Kalandadze and Commander of the 4th Brigade Zurab Samatava, though the latter two were subsequently released on bail.

There are ongoing effects associated with the arrest of Akhalaia, who was appointed defense minister after the Russian-Georgian war in 2008. Saakashvili viewed the arrest of Akhalaia as a move that would hurt Georgia’s integration into the world of European and American affairs. Akhalaia had enjoyed a good relationship with American diplomats, but after these incidents, NATO military authorities suspended a November visit to Tbilisi, which surprised the government and raised some questions. The opposition parties, noting that such incidents would hurt Georgia’s relations with NATO, blamed the government for the strained relationship.

Georgia’s NATO representative, Grigol Mgaloblishvili, noted that the emergence of such a crisis before the NATO Foreign Ministerial Meetings to be held in December would be a problem. The Georgian authorities seek to identify the source of the problem; however, NATO has not offered any explanation so far. Amid ongoing discussions as to whether Georgia will move away from the West due to its internal crises, there are some major issues the government could use to make some serious offers and take the initiative. In particular, these include policies of rapprochement with Russia, which will boost the Armenian economy and lead to some problems along the Azeri-Turkish axis. The new government has not yet clarified its foreign policy path. It seeks to improve ties with Russia on the one hand, and also preserve its strong relations with NATO. But this would lead to a total collapse in foreign policy. The repercussions of this ambivalent stance and indecisive approach will be seen very soon.

Mehmet Fatih ÖZTARSU