Yesterday Raffi Hovhannisyan stated, in response to a question of Aravot, that he considers a set of figures as candidates for the president and mentioned a few of them. Treating those figures differently, I think that if they, as well as a few dozens of other people, become the
president, there will be nothing terrible. It is particularly pleasant to see women on that list, because, no matter what, it would be good, if there was at least one woman among the candidates for president next year. It is not a “gender” issue – it will offer an opportunity to talk about expanding our political outlook.
However, no individual can guarantee systemic changes, demolition of the gang rule, cleaning up the Augean stables etc. Because those stables are in our head, in our mentality. When 90% of people who know me ask me the same question in the street “what will come out of us?” I understand that it is the very “stable of thought” – the position of a passive, spineless, pitiful person who sits idly by and waits what will come out of him, he is convinced that it will be something bad and wants me to confirm his pessimistic predictions. It is strange that such people expect someone to solve their problems, to give them something – a job, a house, an elevator or at least 10 thousand AMD. Which they get and afterwards, they are surprised why they have such a government, which “doesn’t care for them.” If one doesn’t care for oneself and expects a disastrous “outcome,” why does anyone have to do it in his stead?
Therefore, the debate on who among the figures mentioned and not mentioned by Raffi Hovhannisyan is better seems pointless to me – our choice in the foreign policy is as small as the size of our country and whatever statements our presidential candidates make, they will do roughly the same thing as has been done in the past 20 years. There is a choice in the internal life and it, as always, is a choice between bad and worse. It is not good that we don’t hear vox populi and as opposed to their demands, don’t try to reform something gradually. It is worse to follow the mob and promise it what Poligraph Poligraphovich Sharikov would dream of – to share everything.
Read also
Besides the revolutionary year of 1991, the will of the people in presidential elections was clear for me only once – in 1998 – when Karen Demirchyan unequivocally won. However, the voters cast their votes not for this outstanding and, certainly, patriotic figure, but for the myth of sausages for 3.50.
ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
