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PROSPECTS OF KOCHARYAN'S RETURN
Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
May 8 2014
8 May 2014 - 9:57am
David Stepanyan, Yerevan. Exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza
The prospects of the return of Armenian ex-President Robert Kocharyan
are taking shape. This time he may take the prime minister's seat
instead of the president's.
The ex-president spent the whole previous year criticizing Prime
Minister Tigran Sargsyan for his unintelligible economic policy
that put the national economy on the verge of collapse. It seemed
that Kocharyan would calm down after the dissolution of Sargsyan's
government and the appointment of Ovik Abramyan as his successor
according to the "run with the hare and hunt with the hounds"
principle. The ex-president has recently published a new critical
article, where he said that the problem of Armenia was not in the
model of administration, but in the style of governance. Considering
that his old target Tigran Sargsyan was gone and enjoying himself in
the U.S., further criticism and its objects look symptomatic.
Following Kocharyan's burst, Prosperous Armenia leader Gagik Tsarukyan
assured his party members that the ruling Republican Party will not
win the upcoming elections. Tsarukyan cannot tolerate "retreat at
the expense of personal dignity or image of the party." The statement
became a response to the speech of Eduard Sharmazanov, vice speaker
of parliament of the Republican Party. The latter said that "any
politician striving to take authoritative posts in Armenia in the past
10 years should walk along Melik-Adamyan Street [where the office of
the ruling party is situated]."
Prosperous Armenia was founded by Kocharyan himself, and the fact that
Tsarukyan's latest statement has the ex-president's figure in the
background is beyond doubt. Prosperous Armenia will join the ruling
coalition only after receiving tools for adjusting the socio-economic
course. Confrontation between the Republican Party and Prosperous
Armenia is entering an open phase.
Prime Minister Ovik Abramyan, being both a prominent functionary
of the Republican Party and matchmaker of Tsarukyan, is trying to
de-escalate the situation and drag Prosperous Armenia back into the
ruling coalition. What is peculiar about Armenia in this aspect is
that it is not the party membership that matters in the political
alignment but clanship and kindred relations. Abramyan's belonging
to the Republican Party and his kinship may play their role.
Kocharyan has already started preparing for the 2017 parliamentary
polls and the 2018 presidential polls. He is obviously putting the
bets of Prosperous Armenia under strong backing by Tsarukyan. It may
happen that Kocharyan will not wait for the elections and bet the
ranch on a coup attempt in the next months. The question is whether
the Republicans and members of Prosperous Armenia find common grounds
and what their new coalition would look like. Most importantly, who
will take the best parts of the economy under control after another
property redistribution?
http://vestnikkavkaza.net/articles/politics/54926.html
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
May 8 2014
8 May 2014 - 9:57am
David Stepanyan, Yerevan. Exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza
The prospects of the return of Armenian ex-President Robert Kocharyan
are taking shape. This time he may take the prime minister's seat
instead of the president's.
The ex-president spent the whole previous year criticizing Prime
Minister Tigran Sargsyan for his unintelligible economic policy
that put the national economy on the verge of collapse. It seemed
that Kocharyan would calm down after the dissolution of Sargsyan's
government and the appointment of Ovik Abramyan as his successor
according to the "run with the hare and hunt with the hounds"
principle. The ex-president has recently published a new critical
article, where he said that the problem of Armenia was not in the
model of administration, but in the style of governance. Considering
that his old target Tigran Sargsyan was gone and enjoying himself in
the U.S., further criticism and its objects look symptomatic.
Following Kocharyan's burst, Prosperous Armenia leader Gagik Tsarukyan
assured his party members that the ruling Republican Party will not
win the upcoming elections. Tsarukyan cannot tolerate "retreat at
the expense of personal dignity or image of the party." The statement
became a response to the speech of Eduard Sharmazanov, vice speaker
of parliament of the Republican Party. The latter said that "any
politician striving to take authoritative posts in Armenia in the past
10 years should walk along Melik-Adamyan Street [where the office of
the ruling party is situated]."
Prosperous Armenia was founded by Kocharyan himself, and the fact that
Tsarukyan's latest statement has the ex-president's figure in the
background is beyond doubt. Prosperous Armenia will join the ruling
coalition only after receiving tools for adjusting the socio-economic
course. Confrontation between the Republican Party and Prosperous
Armenia is entering an open phase.
Prime Minister Ovik Abramyan, being both a prominent functionary
of the Republican Party and matchmaker of Tsarukyan, is trying to
de-escalate the situation and drag Prosperous Armenia back into the
ruling coalition. What is peculiar about Armenia in this aspect is
that it is not the party membership that matters in the political
alignment but clanship and kindred relations. Abramyan's belonging
to the Republican Party and his kinship may play their role.
Kocharyan has already started preparing for the 2017 parliamentary
polls and the 2018 presidential polls. He is obviously putting the
bets of Prosperous Armenia under strong backing by Tsarukyan. It may
happen that Kocharyan will not wait for the elections and bet the
ranch on a coup attempt in the next months. The question is whether
the Republicans and members of Prosperous Armenia find common grounds
and what their new coalition would look like. Most importantly, who
will take the best parts of the economy under control after another
property redistribution?
http://vestnikkavkaza.net/articles/politics/54926.html
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress