Vahe Hovhannisyan, a Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) MP, would not like “Tigran Sargsyan to gain experience at the expense of the wellbeing of Armenia and our people.”
* Mr. Hovhannisyan, what do you think of Tigran Sargsyan’s reappointment as Prime Minister?
* The main demand made by social and political forces and citizens these days is changes. This is about visible changes in all spheres, all fields. The mechanism of making changes is very simple: the policy should be changed; the programs and the people who carry out those programs should be changed. Tigran Sargsyan’s reappointment testified to the fact that none of these three changes is made; maybe, there is no wish or resource to make changes.
* What message does Serzh Sargsyan send to political forces, particularly the PAP, which aspired to the prime ministership, by Tigran Sargsyan’s reappointment?
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* I think that Serzh Sargsayn sends no message whatsoever to political forces. He just reappoints Tigran Sargsyan as Prime Minister, and since all important decisions are made single-handedly in Armenia, there is almost nothing to discuss.
As for the Prosperous Armenia Party, you will not find any official statement, any opinion expressed publicly by the party’s leader or pivotal figures that the PAP aspired to the prime ministership. The Prosperous Armenia Party participated in the 2012 parliamentary election with a new program, with a new political team and was ready to take on any amount of responsible to carry out its programs. The PAP won roughly half a million votes, but it turned out that it was not sufficient in modern Armenia to make changes constitutionally.
* How will you comment on the reason for Tigran Sargsyan’s reappointment put forward by the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) press secretary yesterday? “We basically agree that Tigran Sargsyan’s Cabinet was able to perform tasks required of it, and we hope that its work will improve. Despite all the problems, Tigran Sargsyan’s Cabinet undertook a task in 2012 to ensure 7% growth, and that task was performed.
Tigran Sargsyan has gained much experience in the past few years, and the team is ready to meet the challenges that exist today, along with him.”
* Here the opinions of the RPA and Armenia substantially differ. What task did Tigran Sargsyan perform? Did he avoid 14% economic decline? Did he transform Dilijan into a financial center? Or did he transform Gyumri into a cultural center or a technology park? He urged the people to keep their savings in drams, and the dram devaluated by 20%-25% in just one day. Did Tigran Sargsyan successfully struggle against corruption? You tell me! Did the emigration rate decline? Did the external debt reduce? The poverty rate of the population has reached 35%? The list is long. As for experience, I wouldn’t like Tigran Sargsyan to gain experience at the expense of the wellbeing of Armenia and our people. The price is too high. By the way, in the not so distant past, Serzh Sargsyan said and I quote, “…Tigran, I assess the work of the Cabinet very negatively, very negatively. We have been talking with you about these issues for four years, four years, but these processes continue; it will be fine in six months, in one year….” You can draw your own conclusions.
* If the PAP had been trusted with the prime ministership, would the PAP have been able to take on this economic burden?
* It is a thankless thing to talk with ifs in real politics. Let me just say that the PAP can shoulder any burden in the field of government. There is a political team, elaborated program and most importantly political will to solve the problems not single-handedly, but based on the principle of broad consolidation with other political forces.
* And what do you think of the PAP’s chances in the Yerevan City Council election?
* I think they are very good, and the meetings with the residents of Yerevan are also grounds for that. I think that if we are able to stop the machine of electoral fraud at least by half, the PAP will win this election.
* Since the opposition has failed to unite in the pre-election period yet another time, do you think there can be some post-election union and what results will it yield?
* As far as I know, no one has made too much effort to unite the opposition forces. I myself didn’t attach too much importance to that union before the Yerevan City Council election. Unfortunately, on the Armenian political stage, the institution of backroom deals efficiently operates next to public politics. I am against the principle of taking the same path all the time. However, at least three forces – the PAP, the Armenian National Congress (ANC), and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) – have put forward a formula, which is the optimal one for the moment, and its principles – not to struggle against each other and to jointly struggle against electoral fraud – are followed. Let me repeat that this is quite a functional formula and much more efficient, than useless political consultations and attempts to satisfy the exaggerated aspirations of certain people.
NELLY GRIGORYAN
