The government’s not nominating Vardan Ghukasyan for the office of the mayor of Gyumri and the most probably endorsing Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) candidate Samvel Balasanyan in the short run testifies to two things. First, the government and the PAP are not the “antagonistic opponents” they seem to be and in the end, they are representatives of the same bureaucracy – it is clear that big beer businessmen are not oppositionists in the countries like Armenia. Second, there is, nonetheless, a praiseworthy desire in the government to get rid of odious figures and to appear with a little bit more civilized face.
The government’s decision to endorse Samvel Balasanyan’s candidacy has another advantage that during the elections, there will not be a serious alternative to him. The Armenian National Congress (ANC) will hardly nominate its candidate for the mayor of Gyumri, since the PAP is its ally “in the struggle against the gang rule” and they are not engaged in propaganda against an ally. Since, according to the ANC, there are no oligarchs in the PAP, Mr. Balasanyan is also not an oligarch and according to the Congress’s logic, he substantially differs from Samvel Alexanyan and Ruben Hayrapetyan. Therefore, there will be no statements in support of him, but there will be no obstacles put in his way either. The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) and the Heritage Party may nominate their candidates, but they will not pose a real threat to the beer producer.
Just objectively, certainly, Mr. Balasanyan has advantages over Vardanik and Martunik. He resembles the latter in the fact that he is not a politician at all. But there is a difference in upbringing – it is hard to imagine that his son will cause showdowns with gunshots in Gyumri or will pretend to be virtuous and pious. Certainly, Mr. Balasanyan is not an embodiment of consistency – at first, he was trying to find a “cover” for his business in the Rule of Law Party, then he “reoriented” himself and joined the PAP; if something threatens that party, there is no doubt, he will “orient” himself again. However, all that fits the “standard code of ethics” of our elite, whereas the current mayor has crossed the limits of that code of ethics.
I don’t know what mayor Samvel Balasanyan will be, hardly anything in the life of the residents of Gyumri will change, if he assumes that office. However, one can surely say that the produce of his factory will be reinforced by new product names.
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ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
