The party called National Security – actually, Garnik Isagulyan, since it surely is one of those “man-parties” – has made a statement, in which a short description of the current political situation is made. One of the main theses is that only the triumvirate of the Armenian National Congress (ANC) rallies, the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) finances and the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) ideas could have competed with the Republican Party of Armenia. The definition is beautiful; if such a unity had been there, the upcoming election would certainly have been in an atmosphere of strong rivalry. However, the obstacles to that triumvirate are not only subjective – the personal ambitions of those parties’ leaderships, as Mr. Isagulyan puts it – but also objective. In particular, the source of the PAP finances is the same as the RPA finances, thus, they cannot oppose each other in the long run. The ARF ideas are too archaic and stem from the 19th century struggle for independence; it is hard to integrate in the modern political life with a “group of highland horsemen,” and those who are not “from highlands” are as cynical as the rest. As for the ANC, the resource of rallies is prone to wearing away. As far as the Congress is concerned, it has existed for quite a long time; neither the National Democratic Union (NDU) nor Manucharyan have been able to attract the “audience’s” attention with the same content, basically correct speeches – robbers, gangsters, one should get rid of them as soon as possible, otherwise… – for such a long time as the ANC did. However, let me repeat that the scheme suggested in the above-mentioned statement, “money-idea-masses,” is absolutely correct; it is the only way of being efficient opposition. The problem is with combining those three; the masses don’t care for ideas, rich people think of them as an “unnecessary luxury” at best. Ideologists hate rich people as a rule and look down on the masses. Literate people usually don’t have finances, and it is often easier for rich people to adapt to the vicious morals of the times than to put their businesses in jeopardy. In a nutshell, combining those three factors is like a “parade of planets,” which happens very seldom.
However, achieving such a “parade” should not be the goal of the opposition, i.e. those who struggle for power, alone. All normal citizens, all thinking people should be concerned about that. When they start to dictate the agenda to the political elite, everything will fall into place. Moreover, without tangible shocks.
ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
