Ashot Yeghiazaryan, an economist nominated by the proportional list of “Free Democrats” party, considers the 15 priority moves of the Tsarukyan alliance populistic.
“With a political program without specification of foreign policy, they cannot show the snapshot in the conditions when today Armenia’s sovereignty is significantly ceded to Russia, apropos, Russia wants to seize our sovereignty from us. In this sense, if there is no political program, how they must restore the sovereignty, discuss issues that are typical to sovereign states, in other words, measuring the effectiveness of the programs driven from this becomes an idle talk,” said Ashot Yeghiazaryan to Aravot.am, referring to the 15 priority moves of Tsarukyan alliance.
According to him, in the last ten years, he had closely followed the programs presented by the political forces and knows very well where the figures shown in these programs have come from, “Increase of pension fees, job openings, increase of wages, everybody says, we will do this, we will do that. This, indeed, is an obvious populism. RPA also introduced the same things into its party program, these are words, statements but addressed to whom, the incompetent voters, I do not know what audience. These are not political programs, and I do not think that the politicians should work in this way and present such political programs.
Well, they say that the small business is tax-free, and here is a question, how is their political program related to public interest, why they do not explain that under these conditions when our economy is narrowing, the overall development progress directions are cut, our country is isolated, what the tax privilege will change. If you wish, grant tax privileges to the entire economy, do not levy taxes, which of course is not possible, against this background, all this is populistic.”
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As for the promises mentioned on the program of Tsarukyan alliance, saying that the gas and electricity fees will drop, Mr. Yeghiazaryan said, “First of all, let them talk about the humiliating treaties which Moscow has compelled on us, about the cancellation of these treaties, which do not enable us to be independent in the energy sector, to be involved in regional programs, to bring foreign investments to Armenia, let them talk all about this and then about the fees. The tariffs are political tariffs, they are political leverages which were always imposed on Armenia, I think it is not fair not to talk about these issues but only the fact they will reduce the tariff, this means cheating the electorates. While today’s electorate is not informed.”
