When Hovik Abrahamyan was appointed prime minister, opposition members were saying that it is still early to say something, let the government introduce its program. When the government had introduced its program, some opposition members were saying, let’s see how this program will be implemented. These diplomatic formulations allow merely not participating in the voting for the government program, thus displaying no attitude toward its content.
But it is a tactical problem that might demonstrate the joint position of the “Quartet”. More significantly, thus the factions do not express an opinion on the ideas expressed in the government program. “You’re thieves, robbers; you should be arrested, shot, and then quartered.” This perhaps is a constructive suggestion, but has nothing to do with the government program. This is the opposition “mantra”, which is repeated at least for 22 years, during all governments, by all oppositions. The number of thieves and robbers does not decrease from repeating this “magic formula”, moreover, it grows.
In addition, from the “required repertoire”, for example, it would be interesting for me to know what the factions think of the notions found in this government program regarding change of tax policy on small and medium-sized businesses, stimulation to demand rather than supply, exemption of value added tax on the border, consolidation of communities, intention to subsidize agriculture, and so on.
I understand that it requires at least reading of the program, which, I am sure, the vast majority of MPs failed doing it. Just as the majority of critics of the concept-paper on constitutional amendments have not read the document. To participate in the discussion on the content of the government program, it is desirable to have some knowledge of economics to predict what practical consequences this or that step will bring.
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Finding fault without reading is as bad as voting in favor of without reading. Most of the RPA factions behaved exactly like it. Moreover, the Republicans, who had read the document, did not particularly make efforts to convince that the presented program is a good one. Why should they make efforts when there are levers of pressure in hand? This time, these levers were used to “apostate” RoL Party business MP Karen Botoyan and to force him to vote in favor of the government program. This is a familiar story.
ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
