Usually, the word “populism” is used with negative connotations. Personally, I also do not like yelling and articulate fiery speeches to be liked by “vast popular masses”. I do not like it because usually when opposition yellers appear in the government camp, they become the first criticizers of the populism. But the fact that people are already talking about populism is already positive. Is there a populism in Azerbaijan, Central Asia or in many countries of the Middle East? Certainly, not, because there is absolutely no need for populous, saying nice things to the people in the absence of political life and public opinion.
In Israel, for example, there is a political life and the populism over there is usually expressed in more solid and more aggressive rhetoric against the Arabs, due to which more nationalist and less nationalist forces are regularly substituting each other completely or partly. There is populism also in the United States, the “non-conventional” figure and billionaire Donald Trump is engaged in heart-pleasing rhetoric of an “average American”. There have been and still are populist streams in Europe, the core of which is again the nationalism: expel the migrants and Muslims, Europe for the Europeans and so on.
It is not a bizarre phenomenon; it is a routine manifestation of political life. There is also a need for populism in Armenia. Although, people so far are unable to form a government, but it is not like the public sentiments have no significance here. In our country, this political stream has two main directions: to liberate the historical homeland and hand the rich and the functionaries. Incidentally, when a part of the homeland is liberated, the populism is fully directed to the second, social course. For example, the successful completion of the war in 1992-1994 did not bring any political points to the first president of Armenia, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, because Artsakh was liberated “in spite of his desire”, but in reality, he was engaged in “selling Karabakh to the Turks” and “organizing cold and dark” in the domestic life.
Hence, let no one be offended with populism, it contains as false so as a healthy thing. Those who doubt I would recommend to re-read “Coriolanus” by Shakespeare.
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Aram ABRAHAMYAN
