In the last editorial, I wrote about how holding snap elections would be a waste of time and resources if Pashinyan is to remain Prime Minister because a reproduction of the current government would be inevitable in that case.
Naturally, this causes some questions to arise regarding when it would be meaningful to have snap elections. Now, the representative of the Citizen’s Choice party, Suren Sahakyan, had the best suggestion that six months need to pass in order for a neutral Prime Minister and neutral government to be elected. It’s clear that Pashinyan and his team disagree, but there are no mechanisms to put pressure on them as far as I understood. But theoretically, the best option in my opinion is for the Prime Minister to be someone who does not have any ambition for power and who will not run in upcoming elections either personally or as a representative of a party. To be honest, I do not see any such candidate at the moment, but if you think about it, it is probably possible to come across such people.
The other options are just as useless as holding snap elections while Pashinyan remains. If, say, Vazgen Manukyan were to become the interim Prime Minister, he will “work” towards the victory of one or several of the 17 parties over the next six months. If Robert Kocharyan were to take over, he would do his best to remain Prime Minister for several more terms, and, by the way, he would establish a much tougher regime. In particular, this regime would be much more unfavorable for us journalists than it is now. But in a purely political sense, it will be the same reproduction of power. So, snap elections and even the election of a temporary Prime Minister with political ambitions to the National Assembly are not a solution to this problem.
All this, once again, is purely theoretical. The real scenario is that Pashinyan will remain Prime Minister as a result of snap or regular elections until a conspiracy is formed against him among the ruling elite, or a revolution takes place. If so, why am I raising the theoretical version of a temporary Prime Minister? I only have one goal: to show that the issues in our state have nothing to do with a specific person.
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This government will change sooner or later. Tell me what the first step of the next government will be. Do you think that it will be putting Pashinyan on trial for “national treason,” as well as filing criminal cases against current officials and deputies? Why? Not because this government is to blame for an embarrassing defeat and national degradation. The Special Investigative Service, prosecutor, and all the rest will simply be in the new government’s pocket, and so, they will do what the new Prime Minister says.
Only one thing can be concluded from that. The state system did not change as a result of the 2018 revolution no matter how much we wish that were true, and no matter how much the government and its supporters try to convince us. But why it didn’t change is a long story.
Aram Abrahamyan
