Nationally agreed-upon governments, as a rule, are created after revolutions or after serious societal-political events take place. In Armenia, as it is known, a similar thing took place. After October 27, 1999, Prime Minister Aram Sargsyan, wanting to keep society unified, invited representatives of different political forces to the government, including communist Leonid Hakobyan. A few months later, Robert Kocharyan, presenting himself as the expert on palatial intrigue (particularly getting Manvel Grigoryan out of his position as Deputy Minister of Defense), was able to take Aram Sargsyan out of power, finally creating a Republican government that was fiercely loyal to him. But regardless of that, a government formed around this bright, maybe even bad, idea could not last long. International experiences even prove this.
In April of 1974 in Portugal, a “revolution of nails” took place, which changed the poor, agricultural nation into an advanced democracy. “Middle class” soldiers came out against Prime Minister Marcelo Caetano in order to make limited changes to the authoritarian system. They received the support of the majority of the citizens. After the revolution, a temporary government was formed, where several representatives of several political forces were, including the communist leader who received the title of “minister without portfolio.” In April of 1975 (yes, exactly one year later), parliamentary elections took place, which created the foundation for modern-day Portugal.
The last nationally agreed-upon government in Armenia lasted for less than 5 months. That is normal; it needed to be that way, regardless of what laws Prosperous Armenia and ARF parliament members voted for and against. Everyone, including political forces, needs to take responsibility for themselves, and it’s not necessary that that responsibility takes the place of ministers without portfolios. Just the opposite- the aforementioned political parties will feel less constrained without portfolios in this pre-election state.
Aram Abrahamyan
