In one of his latest videos, Edmon Marukyan, the chairman of the “Bright Armenia” party, explained the well-known concept of “anti-rating” in sociology in a publicly accessible manner.
Let’s assume that 50 percent of the citizens are against Pashinyan and want him to leave. But 80 percent do not want the “former” to come to power under any circumstances, and Pashinyan managed to convince many that as soon as he gets up from his chair, any “former” will immediately sit on that chair.
The second group of 80 percent is more numerous and, I suppose, defends its conviction more emotionally. As a result, there is no change of power.
By the way, it doesn’t matter to me who speaks the truth or at least provides food for thought. Of course, Marukyan made a mistake when he joined Pashinyan’s team. However, what’s crucial is recognizing the error and making a course correction.
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I don’t believe it’s necessary to constantly remind people of their past mistakes.
As a solution, Marukyan suggests that the Second and Third Presidents declare they no longer have any ambitions for power. Serzh Sargsyan has already made such a statement. It would be beneficial if Kocharian did the same.
However, there is a more subtle issue: the delineation between being ‘former’ and ‘non-former’. Marukyan argues that those who made state decisions between 1998 and 2018 fall into the ‘former’ category. But I think it’s essential to ascertain at what level these decisions were made: as a deputy, department head, or minister?
Let’s agree that it’s one thing when the alleged corrupt Mihran Poghosyan supports the movement of Reverend Bagrat, and another when it is done by Eduard Sharmazanov, whose lifestyle have remained relatively consistent before, during, and after becoming a deputy.
It seems that Margarit Yesayan falls into the category of ‘former’, as in 2018, the people of Nikol expressed strong disapproval of her. But during Margarit’s tenure as an RPA deputy, her husband’s small business went bankrupt.
Current officials Shirak Torosyan, Atom Janjughazyan, Mher Grigoryan are also “formers”.
In short, it’s challenging to determine who has the right to speak and who doesn’t. With an inevitable change of power (whether sooner or later), it is possible that representatives of the new authorities will argue that Edmon Marukyan cannot engage in politics because he served as an ambassador with special assignments during Nikol’s time.
Aram Abrahamyan
