In Armenia, everything is really personified. If one takes a look at the press digest on websites, the issues that concern our society the most are whether Hovik Abrahamyan will be the Prime Minister or Tigran Sargsyan. Or will the Minister of Culture be from the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), from the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) or non-partisan? Certainly, it is very important for the mentioned two parties, possible minister, his/her relatives, as well as the workers of the ministry – whom s/he will appoint, whom s/he will fire, whether she will “eat” moderately or will devour what s/he can. However, if one looks at that issue, for example, from the perspective of a music school teacher, the personality of the minister and his/her party membership lose their landmark significance and how much that teacher earns and why not, how much, at least, moral importance the state attaches to his/her work become much more important problems. Admittedly, comprehensive school teachers do important state work and they should receive state medical insurance packages and music school teachers just “provide services” like barbers or massagers and there is no package for them.
I gave this example just to show how many problems there sometimes are, which we heatedly discuss, referring to a certain “well-informed source” far from problems really concerning ordinary citizens of Armenia. We seem to create an illusion that the only problem of the whole people is when the coalition will be formed and who will be involved in it. However, no one has explained during the past two months what system of values will guide him, once he comes to power and how he is going to solve concrete problems. Everyone, including member-parties of the coalition, is expert in telling tragic stories about the emigration and hard socio-economic conditions, there is no denying. Perhaps, it seems to party members that the louder and the more professionally those tragic stories are told, the more the people are convinced that they are the ones to solve those problems. This causes the delusion that the world is this person’s or this party’s oyster. And we, the journalists, develop and embroider those intrigues.
It is interesting that yesterday ArmenTel cell phones were silent almost all day, is it conditional on some minister’s or Prime Minister’s membership to a certain party?
ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
