When someone enters politics, and moreover, when they become part of the ruling party, they must realize that they are demanded to have some level of demagoguery and cynicism. This is demanded all across the world, and Armenia cannot be an exception here. “Team spirit” demands that you either not notice the shortcomings and defects, or you notice them and say that it is not your fault, but the fault of your predecessors, or if your speech is more flexible, present the disadvantage as an advantage. In an authoritarian country like Armenia, you must also glorify the wisdom and insight of your leader.
Thus, being ruthless and shameless are inseparable features of a politician. In post-war Armenia, this feature has become unprecedented and extreme. The My Step members and their boss, even when the Artsakh Defense Army continues to publish the names of several dozens of soldiers almost every day, do not hang their heads in shame, and they continue to be able to look people in the eye. They continue to talk ‘shamelessly’ about the war and various other topics. If an ordinary person even accidentally causes the death of one person (say, due to an accident), then they are under stress for the rest of their life, their conscience torments them, they see the dead person in their dreams, and they are constantly reminded of the tragedy. But this is not so in the case of a politician. The ‘pleasure’ of having an official title prevails over ordinary human emotions.
It’s true that there are special exceptions. Several deputies resigned or they left the ruling party. That includes Varazdat Karapetyan. The former My Step deputy and the chair of the Standing Committee on Territorial Administration decided to resign recently from his position as the Armenian trade representative in China, explaining that now is not the time to go to China. Over the past three months, Karapetyan realized that our country faced a humiliating defeat, which his former political party members happily deny. And that is normal. If they were to call things by name, then their demagogue arguments about how the “people gave them their positions” would weaken. It would seem as though they were given a mandate to carry out a humiliating defeat.
But since we did not face defeat, we and our children will continue to live in a “happy Armenia.”
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Aram Abrahamyan
