As we know, one of the main ways out of the crisis in Armenia was to create a transitional government that would be apolitical and technocratic. That proposal was not implemented. Pashinyan and My Step do not want to relinquish their power for a second. Who knows what will happen before the elections? Perhaps someone will steal their seats.
However, since it is very unlikely that the elections (however they will end) can resolve this crisis and vice versa, we can assume that the new (old) government will not remain firmly in its seat, so we can address this idea in two words. Is it implementable in Armenia whatsoever?
Let’s use the Minister of Education, Science, Culture, and Sport as an example. After the revolution, Arayik Harutyunyan, an individual belonging to a political party, a politician, an active “marcher,” and a bright revolutionary held the position, although he seems to have left the political arena despite being one of the Prime Minister’s advisors. On November 23, 2020, professor Vahram Dumanyan, who does not belong to any political party, was appointed to the position, and he can be considered a professional technocrat. Are there truly any visible differences in the behavior of these two ministers? For example, Dumanyan said that the children who were “taken into custody” by their schools’ administrators to participate in Pashinyan’s rallies actually wanted to listen to political rhetoric. Harutyunyan would have said the same thing, albeit with a more aggressive tone.
Or, the Prime Minister said that all university buildings must be sold, and the proceeds will be used to build a university city outside of Yerevan. If Vahram Dumanyan were simply a YSU professor, he would have laughed at the idea. But now, the minister gave some confusing response (the deputy chief of the General Staff, Tiran Khachatryan, faced the consequences of laughing). Politician Arayik Harutyunyan would have also supported selling university buildings. Now, if the Prime Minister orders that the conservatory and the Polytechnic Institute be ‘crucified,’ do you believe that Dumanyan won’t be running to carry out that order while forgetting about his own professionalism?
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Therefore, in this situation, in the conditions of these political traditions and this constitution, a person holding a position must either behave like a ‘backpack’ (even if they are not a ‘backpack’ to begin with), or they must resign from their position. In a kleptocracy, theft (until 2018), and ochlocracy or mob rule (after 2018) cannot be established through a system of professional managers. First, a regime must be established where the opinion of independent and disinterested people is taken into account, and then it is only worth thinking about whether or not people should be given such positions.
Aram Abrahamyan
