Sometimes I’m shocked about how far from reality the perspectives of political parties are. Especially the former ruling parties’ perspectives on the past.
At the moment, for example, communists and members of the Pan-Armenian National Movement think that Armenians hated them less than they hate the Republicans now. That illusion, of course, has its explanations. Now- years, decades later- the feelings of the people aren’t as strong, their feelings have dulled, new generations have been born that weren’t alive when communists and even the Pan-Armenian National Movement were in power, and now those parties play no role in our lives, and they aren’t fit to play the role of “anti-heroes.” Besides that, since people’s emotions have dulled down, they remember their youth and say, “everything during their time was still fine.”
If political parties can’t adequately understand the past and the way people feel about them, then they naturally aren’t able to understand what is currently taking place. The Republicans, if they want to remain in the political arena, needed to take strong steps over these past four months, change their leader, perhaps even the name of the political party, and speak clearly about their past mistakes and failures. Now it’s too late. Any action taken by the authorities, including blockading the National Assembly so that no sessions take place after the prime minister’s possible resignation, will only be met with happiness by the majority of Armenians. It can be seen through the hundreds of likes that any Facebook post talking badly about Republicans gets.
But the other political parties also aren’t judging the situation adequately, either. The Yerevan City Council elections should have been a wake-up call, especially for the ARF, Prosperous Armenia, and the Luys alliance. They, of course, reacted correctly in congratulating “My Step.” But, besides their congratulations, they needed to also understand their reasons for losing, perhaps start rebranding their political parties, and, most importantly, come outside of the “nationally agreed upon” government. It may not be too late yet, but if it doesn’t happen, the National Assembly elections will be a nasty surprise for those political parties. It’s clear that even the revolutionaries have work to do. But their work is so great that it’s impossible to list everything they need to do in this article.
Aram Abrahamyan
