A significant portion of the opposition forces preparing to run in the upcoming parliamentary elections faces a peculiar challenge: they must prove that they have no connection with the “former authorities.”
The government’s propaganda machine, on the other hand, has set itself the opposite task — to link every critic of Pashinyan to the “formers” and to Russia.
Against this backdrop, one figure stands out — Robert Kocharyan, who, for many, evokes negative — one could even say infernal — associations. The moment he gives a press conference, regardless of whether he is right or wrong, many citizens instantly react: “Better let Nikol stay.”
I’ll admit, I used to think the same way back in 2021. Not anymore. In these five years, Pashinyan has done everything possible to make me think otherwise. In particular, when it comes to state pressure, repression, and violence, the current prime minister has caught up with Kocharyan.
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Still, we must look at reality soberly. Despite the dubious “sociological surveys,” neither Kocharyan nor the “Armenia” Alliance, taken alone, has any real chance of winning.
Even so, I would advise the opposition not to spend their days — ten times a day, matching the scale of the government’s propaganda — repeating that they have no ties with the “formers.” Doing so only reinforces an agenda that serves the authorities perfectly and distracts from the far graver problems facing the country.
And the greatest challenge, to put it bluntly, is the de facto loss of statehood — the direction in which Pashinyan is leading us, with visible “delight.”
But I am not convinced that any political force at this point is capable of preventing that process.
…Lately, there has been talk of former Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan as a possible opposition candidate. Should he come to Yerevan and so much as hint at political intentions, the government’s reaction would be entirely predictable: one, or several, criminal cases would immediately appear. Pashinyan’s investigators and prosecutors can churn out indictments by the dozen — and Pashinyan’s courts will dutifully stamp them.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
