FILE PHOTO: Irakli Kobakhidze, parliament speaker nominee, attends the first session of the newly elected parliament in Kutaisi, Georgia, November 18, 2016. REUTERS/David Mdzinarishvili/File Photo
TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgia's ruling party on Thursday nominated its blunt-speaking leader Irakli Kobakhidze as prime minister, as the South Caucasus country, which is courted by both Russia and the West, prepares for parliamentary elections.
Kobakhidze, who has led the governing Georgian Dream bloc since 2021, is known for his fiery rhetoric and balances sometimes trenchant criticism of the West and Ukraine with statements about his country's desire to join the European Union and the NATO military alliance.
He is also known for his blunt-speaking criticism of the opposition and jailed ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili.
In a speech at his party's congress after being nominated, Kobakhidze predicted that Georgian Dream would win parliamentary elections due by October "by a large margin".
Polls show that Georgian Dream remains the country's most popular party, but has lost ground since 2020, when it won a slim majority in parliament.
Irakli Garibashvili, the outgoing prime minister, said on Monday he was resigning to give his successor time to prepare for the vote. Parliament is expected to approve his successor in the coming days.
Georgian Dream is widely believed to be controlled by its founder, billionaire former prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili.
In their speeches, both Kobakhdize and Garibashvili thanked Ivanishvili for his political support.
Ivanishvili and his allies say they are committed to Georgia's goal of joining the EU and NATO, but their deepening ties with Russia and a crack down on opposition at home have raised concerns in the West.
Georgia, which says it opposes Russia's war in Ukraine but wants to ensure it does not spill onto its own territory, declined to impose sanctions on Moscow over the conflict and has restored flights with Russia which were suspended in 2019.
(Reporting by Felix Light; editing by Andrew Osborn)
