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ARMENIA: NEW PRIME MINISTER WANTED
EurasiaNet.org
April 4 2014
April 4, 2014 - 9:01am, by Giorgi Lomsadze
The surprise April 3 resignation of Armenian Prime Minister Tigran
Sarkisian and possible options for his replacement have sparked much
speculation in Armenia.
In a valedictory Facebook message, Tigran Sarkisian said that he
actually had tendered his resignation back in February -- his reasons
for staying on were not specified -- and wished the best of luck to
the government team. That team, led by President Serzh Sargsyan, might
well need it, for their economic policies, including pension-reform,
energy and public-transportation fees, have been putting an increasing
number of Armenians on edge.
Under the Constitution, though, the cabinet must step down now that
the prime minister has.
Few are buying that 54-year-old Sarkisian quit because he wants,
as the line goes, to spend more time with his family. Most reports
link Sarkisian's departure after six years in office to the looming
collapse of his controversial pet project on pension reform.
On April 2, the Constitutional Court scrapped a controversial,
mandatory retirement savings policy, that might have been dubbed
"Sarkisiancare." The ex-prime minister had pulled the US-advised
reform through fire and water as hundreds fiercely protested
against the law in Yerevan. Failing to defeat it in the legislature,
Armenian opposition parties took the case to the Court, which deemed
it unconstitutional. The government insists that the policy can be
saved despite the court ruling. That was, in fact, one of the last
points that Sarkisian made in his official capacity.
Deputy Parliamentary Speaker Eduard Sharmazanov claimed that Sarkisian
has wanted to retire for quite a while now, but that President
Sargsyan (also spelled Sarkisian) asked him to stick around for
another month. Some news outlets suggested that the prime minister's
resignation was a face-saving move by the president.
Potential replacement candidates floated in the media include Defense
Minister Serzh Oganian, Parliament Speaker Hovik Abrahamian and even
Yerevan's police chief, Vladimir Gasparian.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/68235
EurasiaNet.org
April 4 2014
April 4, 2014 - 9:01am, by Giorgi Lomsadze
The surprise April 3 resignation of Armenian Prime Minister Tigran
Sarkisian and possible options for his replacement have sparked much
speculation in Armenia.
In a valedictory Facebook message, Tigran Sarkisian said that he
actually had tendered his resignation back in February -- his reasons
for staying on were not specified -- and wished the best of luck to
the government team. That team, led by President Serzh Sargsyan, might
well need it, for their economic policies, including pension-reform,
energy and public-transportation fees, have been putting an increasing
number of Armenians on edge.
Under the Constitution, though, the cabinet must step down now that
the prime minister has.
Few are buying that 54-year-old Sarkisian quit because he wants,
as the line goes, to spend more time with his family. Most reports
link Sarkisian's departure after six years in office to the looming
collapse of his controversial pet project on pension reform.
On April 2, the Constitutional Court scrapped a controversial,
mandatory retirement savings policy, that might have been dubbed
"Sarkisiancare." The ex-prime minister had pulled the US-advised
reform through fire and water as hundreds fiercely protested
against the law in Yerevan. Failing to defeat it in the legislature,
Armenian opposition parties took the case to the Court, which deemed
it unconstitutional. The government insists that the policy can be
saved despite the court ruling. That was, in fact, one of the last
points that Sarkisian made in his official capacity.
Deputy Parliamentary Speaker Eduard Sharmazanov claimed that Sarkisian
has wanted to retire for quite a while now, but that President
Sargsyan (also spelled Sarkisian) asked him to stick around for
another month. Some news outlets suggested that the prime minister's
resignation was a face-saving move by the president.
Potential replacement candidates floated in the media include Defense
Minister Serzh Oganian, Parliament Speaker Hovik Abrahamian and even
Yerevan's police chief, Vladimir Gasparian.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/68235