Michael Roth, Chair of the Bundestag Foreign Affairs Committee, visited Georgia on 16 September 2024 where he met civil society representatives, LGBTQI+ rights activists, opposition party members and the president. Members of the ruling party declined meeting with him (1, 2, 3).
Following his meeting with civil society representatives on 16 September, Michael Roth posted on X (formerly Twitter) with the caption reading: “It’s the civil society, stupid! Critical, brave NGOs are the backbone of a strong, resilient democracy. Thanks for pro-European commitment and inspiring work. The foreign agent law is poison for democratic culture in Georgia and must therefore be abolished.”
Imedi TV, the information agency Prime Time, the TikTok channel fucoskankara, analyst Edisher Gvenetadze and other social media users (1, 2, 3, 4) spread the phrase “It’s the civil society, stupid!” from Michael Roth’s post out of context, claiming that Roth was referring to the Georgian population as “stupid.” Imedi TV’s post stated: “Michael Roth is making yet another derogatory statement against Georgian society.” Fucoskankara commented on this situation in a video (from 00:44): “He’s posing with the NGO sector – the very people they are paying themselves – and labelling the rest of us as stupid.”
In reality, the phrase “It’s the civil society, stupid!” is a modified version of a well-known phrase coined by Bill Clinton’s campaign strategist, James Carville, during the 1992 US presidential election: “It’s the economy, stupid!”.
The US was facing an economic recession in 1992 and there was a widespread perception that then President George H.W. Bush was unfamiliar with the economic needs of the American citizens, subsequently being unable to address the crisis effectively. James Carville advised Bill Clinton’s campaign team to consistently emphasise the issue of economy in their messages, making the slogan “It’s the economy, stupid!” a central theme of Clinton’s election campaign. The aforementioned phrase gained popularity in American society over time. Politicians and analysts frequently rephrase it to draw attention to important topics: “It’s the deficit, stupid!,” “It’s the infrastructure, stupid!,” “It’s the environment, stupid!,” “It’s health care, stupid!” and many others.
Sometimes the aforementioned phrase is directed at specific individuals such as politicians and decision-makers. For instance, Carville’s original phrase was aimed at then president and Bill Clinton’s opponent in presidential elections, George H.W. Bush, and the Republican Party. However, these phrases are mostly used in general terms to draw attention to critical issues without addressing a particular individual or group. Most importantly, none of the variations of the aforementioned phrase have ever been used to describe or refer to society as a whole in an insulting manner.
Notably, during Michael Roth’s previous visit in May 2024, another one of his statements was circulated manipulatively, making it appear as though he said: “Georgia has no business in the European Union with its Orthodox Christianity.”
Furthermore, a smear campaign was launched against Michael Roth during his visit with emphasis placed on his sexual orientation. The chair of the Bundestag Foreign Affairs Committee has frequently been labelled with terms such as “man-wife” and “LGBTQI+ MP,” mocking him for meeting with people described as “dignity-stripped men.”
Thus, Michael Roth modified a well-known and established phrase – “It’s the economy, stupid!”. The phrase and its variations are typically directed at specific decision-makers or used in a general context to highlight important topics. Considering the above, interpreting Roth's statement as an attempt to label the Georgian population as “stupid” is baseless. Therefore, this interpretation is manipulation.
