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POWER IN THE BALANCE: EX-PREZ KOCHARYAN'S CRITICISM OF PM SARGSYAN SEEN AS START OF POSSIBLE POLITICAL COMEBACK
ANALYSIS | 15.01.14 | 11:38
Photo: Photolure/Archives
By NAIRA HAYRUMYAN
ArmeniaNow correspondent
The 'economic' debate between the current Prime Minister Tigran
Sargsyan and former President Robert Kocharyan is seen by many
as the possible beginning of a greater political campaign. It is
not entirely clear now what the objectives of this campaign are,
but most likely it is the resignation of the prime minister, which
would create preconditions for demanding early parliamentary and
presidential elections.
President Serzh Sargsyan has not yet responded in any way to the
unfolding discussion, although by his statement in December he, in
fact, gave a 'carte blanche' to the prime minister till March. In
December, Sargsyan said that in February 2014 the premier should
present objective reasons why Armenia has recorded economic growth
of only 4.5 percent instead of 7 percent, as was demanded by the
president. If the prime minister fails to prove his 'innocence',
the government will have to resign.
At present, PM Sargsyan is busy trying to shift the blame for the
country's economic problems to the administration of former president
Robert Kocharyan (1998-2008), as chairman of the Union of Political
Scientists of Armenia Hmayak Hovannisyan puts it. The premier says
that during the presidency of Kocharyan "a construction bubble" was
inflated and in 2008 it burst, while the economy of the country has
not been able to recover till today. Kocharyan hits back by saying
that the government that came to power after his retirement has
pursued an utterly untalented policy.
What is overlooked in the process is that Serzh Sargsyan for a period
used to be head of the government during Kocharyan's presidency
(from spring 2007 to his election as president in 2008), and now he
is president and the accusations of Kocharyan and Tigran Sargsyan,
in theory, also concern him. The fact that the "addressee" is not
referred to by name means that Serzh Sargsyan, who cannot run for
president for the third time in 2018, is not regarded as a relevant
political figure. However, unless Serzh Sargsyan sacks Tigran Sargsyan
in spring, it may mean that he sees him as a plausible candidate for
presidency from the ruling Republican Party.
On January 18, four minority parliamentary parties plan to hold a rally
against Tigran Sargsyan's pension reform. Now experts are speculating
about how many people could turn out for the gathering and whether
the Prosperous Armenia Party, believed to be loyal to Kocharyan,
will take thousands of its supporters to the streets.
It is noteworthy that despite the rejection of Robert Kocharyan by
the opposition after the events of March 1, 2008, when 10 people were
killed during the dispersal of a post-election protest, it is clear
that Kocharyan still has retained a considerable base of supporters.
The matter concerns not just the Prosperous Armenia Party, the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) and some other parties that
have remained loyal to him, but also part of the Republican Party
led by Serzh Sargsyan. Differences within this party sometimes come
to surface, to the extent that media has several times written about
thwarted "palace coup" attempts.
Lragir.am analyst Hakob Badalyan writes that despite the fact that the
government in 2008 was passed to Serzh Sargsyan, Kocharyan retained
control of an impressive part of capital in Armenia. And it helps
him maintain political leverage.
Besides, there is an opinion that Kocharyan and Sargsyan have an
agreement on their 'rotation' on the example of Putin-Medvedev in
Russia, and Sargsyan will not even resist his predecessor's political
comeback. The only question is whether it will be done in time (the
next parliamentary and presidential elections are due to be held in
2017 and 2018), or through early elections.
http://www.armenianow.com/commentary/analysis/51336/armenia_politics_robert_kocharyan_serzh_sargsyan_p resident
From: Baghdasarian
ANALYSIS | 15.01.14 | 11:38
Photo: Photolure/Archives
By NAIRA HAYRUMYAN
ArmeniaNow correspondent
The 'economic' debate between the current Prime Minister Tigran
Sargsyan and former President Robert Kocharyan is seen by many
as the possible beginning of a greater political campaign. It is
not entirely clear now what the objectives of this campaign are,
but most likely it is the resignation of the prime minister, which
would create preconditions for demanding early parliamentary and
presidential elections.
President Serzh Sargsyan has not yet responded in any way to the
unfolding discussion, although by his statement in December he, in
fact, gave a 'carte blanche' to the prime minister till March. In
December, Sargsyan said that in February 2014 the premier should
present objective reasons why Armenia has recorded economic growth
of only 4.5 percent instead of 7 percent, as was demanded by the
president. If the prime minister fails to prove his 'innocence',
the government will have to resign.
At present, PM Sargsyan is busy trying to shift the blame for the
country's economic problems to the administration of former president
Robert Kocharyan (1998-2008), as chairman of the Union of Political
Scientists of Armenia Hmayak Hovannisyan puts it. The premier says
that during the presidency of Kocharyan "a construction bubble" was
inflated and in 2008 it burst, while the economy of the country has
not been able to recover till today. Kocharyan hits back by saying
that the government that came to power after his retirement has
pursued an utterly untalented policy.
What is overlooked in the process is that Serzh Sargsyan for a period
used to be head of the government during Kocharyan's presidency
(from spring 2007 to his election as president in 2008), and now he
is president and the accusations of Kocharyan and Tigran Sargsyan,
in theory, also concern him. The fact that the "addressee" is not
referred to by name means that Serzh Sargsyan, who cannot run for
president for the third time in 2018, is not regarded as a relevant
political figure. However, unless Serzh Sargsyan sacks Tigran Sargsyan
in spring, it may mean that he sees him as a plausible candidate for
presidency from the ruling Republican Party.
On January 18, four minority parliamentary parties plan to hold a rally
against Tigran Sargsyan's pension reform. Now experts are speculating
about how many people could turn out for the gathering and whether
the Prosperous Armenia Party, believed to be loyal to Kocharyan,
will take thousands of its supporters to the streets.
It is noteworthy that despite the rejection of Robert Kocharyan by
the opposition after the events of March 1, 2008, when 10 people were
killed during the dispersal of a post-election protest, it is clear
that Kocharyan still has retained a considerable base of supporters.
The matter concerns not just the Prosperous Armenia Party, the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) and some other parties that
have remained loyal to him, but also part of the Republican Party
led by Serzh Sargsyan. Differences within this party sometimes come
to surface, to the extent that media has several times written about
thwarted "palace coup" attempts.
Lragir.am analyst Hakob Badalyan writes that despite the fact that the
government in 2008 was passed to Serzh Sargsyan, Kocharyan retained
control of an impressive part of capital in Armenia. And it helps
him maintain political leverage.
Besides, there is an opinion that Kocharyan and Sargsyan have an
agreement on their 'rotation' on the example of Putin-Medvedev in
Russia, and Sargsyan will not even resist his predecessor's political
comeback. The only question is whether it will be done in time (the
next parliamentary and presidential elections are due to be held in
2017 and 2018), or through early elections.
http://www.armenianow.com/commentary/analysis/51336/armenia_politics_robert_kocharyan_serzh_sargsyan_p resident
From: Baghdasarian