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ARMENIA: POLITICS EMBRACES ENTERTAINERS AND MEDIA TYPES
Marianna Grigoryan
EurasiaNet.org
March 22 2012
NY
With voter interest lagging in Armenia this election season, parties
are trying to inject an element of show business into politics.
The names of celebrities, from both the performing arts and media, dot
the slates of pro-government and opposition parties alike. Armenia's
parliamentary vote will be held May 6.
Over a dozen broadcast and print journalists are in the running for
a seat in Armenia's 131-member parliament, primarily for parties
currently in power. So far, one popular singer has joined them,
and some prominent TV actresses say that the governing Republican
Party of Armenia (RPA) has approached them about their interest in
appearing on the legislative stage.
Among the candidates for the RPA are Karen Ghazarian, the president
of Sharm Holding, an advertising-media-production company. Also on the
slate are public television's First News anchor Samvel Farmanian, the
privately owned Armenia TV's commentator Gagik Mkrtchian, Armenia TV
producer Vahe Ghazarian, and Aravot newspaper reporter Margarit Esaian.
The Armenian National Congress, the country's largest opposition group,
features Haikakan Zhamanak newspaper editor-in-chief Nikol Pashinian,
who was imprisoned following the post-2008 presidential election
clashes with police, and newspaper reporter Gayane Arustamian.
168 Hours editor-in-chief Satik Seyranian and Chorrord Inqnishkhutin
reporter Gohar Vezirian are running as non-partisan candidates.
In a February survey by the polling firm Sociometer, more respondents
said they were not following the elections, or had no interest at all
in politics (40 percent of 1,650 respondents), than expressed support
for the leading party in the governing coalition, the Republican Party
(16 percent).
Another member of the governing coalition, Prosperous Armenia,
headed by tycoon Gagik Tsarukian, garnered 14.7-percent support,
with ex-President Levon Ter-Petrosian's opposition Armenian National
Congress at a distant 3.5 percent. The support decreased still further
for government coalition member Orinats Yerkir, and the opposition
Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutiun, Heritage Party and
Free Democrats.
Sociometer Director Aharon Adibekian commented that bringing in media
and show-business figures "is definitely a PR move by which the parties
are trying to boost the attractiveness of the elections [for voters]."
Some Armenian analysts agree, adding that the introduction of
celebrity candidates may also be an attempt to move away from the
clubby atmosphere of parliament in which politicians, when present,
nap or play games on their computers.
"When political parties lack authority in the eyes of ordinary people,
and trust toward them is decreasing, political parties try to make
use of the situation by introducing figures outside of politics --
intellectuals, singers, artists, who will, in fact, act as props,"
argued independent political analyst Yervand Bozoyan.
Pop singer Shushan Petrosyan, a candidate on the RPA slate, says she
is taking her candidacy duties as seriously as any stage appearance.
"They say I'm romantic, but I want to introduce real changes,"
Petrosyan insisted. A frequent participant in past RPA campaign videos
and concerts, she said that she intends to focus on cultural issues
in parliament, and looks on her mission as "a creative one."
The entertainer ranks 16th in the Republican Party of Armenia's
list of candidates, right after Gen. Manvel Grigoryan, a onetime
deputy defense minister who is often likened to a feudal lord for his
extensive business interests and military connections. The number of
individuals on the party list who actually become MPs will be based
on the percentage of the popular vote received by the RPA.
Some Yerevan voters are befuddled by Petrosyan's candidacy. "I cannot
understand what Shushan Petrosyan is going to get out of being in
parliament," commented 41-year-old shop clerk Lida Avagian. "Better
for her to keep singing."
Reporter-turned-politician Naira Zohrabian, a senior Prosperous
Armenia Party MP who, like Pashinian, once worked with this reporter at
Haikakan Zhamanak, says she also does not understand why entertainment
industry figures are now interested in running for parliament. At the
same time, she asserted that journalists have a justifiable reason
for doing so.
"The current parliament is just disastrous in terms of political
quality," said Zohrabian. "I think this was a pragmatic calculation .
. . Taking into account the lack of orators in parliament, they
try to recruit new people to their factions ... [and] that is not a
bad trend."
Analysts see no problem with the idea of journalists entering
politics. Journalists are at least "literate," said independent
political analyst Karen Kocharian. "These journalists are better
aware of legislation."
Editor's note: Marianna Grigoryan is a freelance reporter based
in Yerevan.
Marianna Grigoryan
EurasiaNet.org
March 22 2012
NY
With voter interest lagging in Armenia this election season, parties
are trying to inject an element of show business into politics.
The names of celebrities, from both the performing arts and media, dot
the slates of pro-government and opposition parties alike. Armenia's
parliamentary vote will be held May 6.
Over a dozen broadcast and print journalists are in the running for
a seat in Armenia's 131-member parliament, primarily for parties
currently in power. So far, one popular singer has joined them,
and some prominent TV actresses say that the governing Republican
Party of Armenia (RPA) has approached them about their interest in
appearing on the legislative stage.
Among the candidates for the RPA are Karen Ghazarian, the president
of Sharm Holding, an advertising-media-production company. Also on the
slate are public television's First News anchor Samvel Farmanian, the
privately owned Armenia TV's commentator Gagik Mkrtchian, Armenia TV
producer Vahe Ghazarian, and Aravot newspaper reporter Margarit Esaian.
The Armenian National Congress, the country's largest opposition group,
features Haikakan Zhamanak newspaper editor-in-chief Nikol Pashinian,
who was imprisoned following the post-2008 presidential election
clashes with police, and newspaper reporter Gayane Arustamian.
168 Hours editor-in-chief Satik Seyranian and Chorrord Inqnishkhutin
reporter Gohar Vezirian are running as non-partisan candidates.
In a February survey by the polling firm Sociometer, more respondents
said they were not following the elections, or had no interest at all
in politics (40 percent of 1,650 respondents), than expressed support
for the leading party in the governing coalition, the Republican Party
(16 percent).
Another member of the governing coalition, Prosperous Armenia,
headed by tycoon Gagik Tsarukian, garnered 14.7-percent support,
with ex-President Levon Ter-Petrosian's opposition Armenian National
Congress at a distant 3.5 percent. The support decreased still further
for government coalition member Orinats Yerkir, and the opposition
Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutiun, Heritage Party and
Free Democrats.
Sociometer Director Aharon Adibekian commented that bringing in media
and show-business figures "is definitely a PR move by which the parties
are trying to boost the attractiveness of the elections [for voters]."
Some Armenian analysts agree, adding that the introduction of
celebrity candidates may also be an attempt to move away from the
clubby atmosphere of parliament in which politicians, when present,
nap or play games on their computers.
"When political parties lack authority in the eyes of ordinary people,
and trust toward them is decreasing, political parties try to make
use of the situation by introducing figures outside of politics --
intellectuals, singers, artists, who will, in fact, act as props,"
argued independent political analyst Yervand Bozoyan.
Pop singer Shushan Petrosyan, a candidate on the RPA slate, says she
is taking her candidacy duties as seriously as any stage appearance.
"They say I'm romantic, but I want to introduce real changes,"
Petrosyan insisted. A frequent participant in past RPA campaign videos
and concerts, she said that she intends to focus on cultural issues
in parliament, and looks on her mission as "a creative one."
The entertainer ranks 16th in the Republican Party of Armenia's
list of candidates, right after Gen. Manvel Grigoryan, a onetime
deputy defense minister who is often likened to a feudal lord for his
extensive business interests and military connections. The number of
individuals on the party list who actually become MPs will be based
on the percentage of the popular vote received by the RPA.
Some Yerevan voters are befuddled by Petrosyan's candidacy. "I cannot
understand what Shushan Petrosyan is going to get out of being in
parliament," commented 41-year-old shop clerk Lida Avagian. "Better
for her to keep singing."
Reporter-turned-politician Naira Zohrabian, a senior Prosperous
Armenia Party MP who, like Pashinian, once worked with this reporter at
Haikakan Zhamanak, says she also does not understand why entertainment
industry figures are now interested in running for parliament. At the
same time, she asserted that journalists have a justifiable reason
for doing so.
"The current parliament is just disastrous in terms of political
quality," said Zohrabian. "I think this was a pragmatic calculation .
. . Taking into account the lack of orators in parliament, they
try to recruit new people to their factions ... [and] that is not a
bad trend."
Analysts see no problem with the idea of journalists entering
politics. Journalists are at least "literate," said independent
political analyst Karen Kocharian. "These journalists are better
aware of legislation."
Editor's note: Marianna Grigoryan is a freelance reporter based
in Yerevan.