When I expressed my wish for the RPA to not participate in the elections, I said that the entire campaign process would turn into an opportunity to throw stones at the party. And that’s what happened. The majority of what is being said about the old authorities is justifiable, but speaking about only them for two weeks means that neither the campaign participants nor the people are interested in the plans and ideas of the political parties. People have gotten seats in the audience and the amphitheatre to watch the battle between My Step and the RPA. That is the most interesting part from a solely journalistic perspective. And the chances of the former authorities are very clouded.
I don’t think that anyone can compete with the current Prime Minister in “throwing people against the asphalt,” “putting people in their place,” and “making people bow before them.” Therefore, Ashotyan in particular will be a victim to Pashinyan’s witty counter attacks, which will result in “viewers” saying that Pashinyan beat the old thieves 10 to nothing. The other nine parties participating in the campaigns almost completely fade from consciousness due to this battle. Even more, the second echelon of the current and past authorities is not all that impressive. Pashinyan’s personal ratings are higher than those of Civil Contract and My Step. The rest of the list is under the Prime Minister’s shadow. That is good when looking at it from the point of view of the campaigns, but it will create problems for Pashinyan in terms of future developments, since people will demand higher salaries and pensions, better lifestyles, and justice from him personally. That cannot be protected simply from the art of rhetoric and silencing the opposition.
It is not at all understandable as to how it is possible to satisfy citizens’ expectations. There are too many, and some are not even fully pictured, and are formulated through very vague speculations. Now, when it is possible to turn these campaigns into a way to disrespect the RPA, it is possible to misunderstand the needs of the people, because they will be satisfied with slander against the old regime. But it will start to become more difficult after December 10th to say that the “former criminal regime” is the reason why certain problems can’t be solved.
Aram Abrahamyan
