(Saturday, May 26)
“Chorrord Inknishkhanutyun” claims that President Serzh Sarkisian will not have a real loyal majority in the parliament and that the Prosperous Armenia Party’s decision to leave the government “drastically weakened” his positions. The pro-opposition daily argues that even according to official results of the May 6 elections Sarkisian’s Republican Party (HHK) and its sole remaining ally, Orinats Yerkir, won between them 49 percent of the vote. “So for the first time ever there is a situation in Armenia where opposition forces elected to the parliament won, according to official data, more votes than the ruling party,” it says.
“Zhamanak” says the BHK’s decision not to join Sarkisian’s government took many in Armenia by surprise. “Almost everyone is now shouting in unison, ‘We don’t believe it,’” the paper says.
“There cannot be two ruling parties and it’s wrong to make people laugh,” reads a headline in “Hayots Ashkhar.” The pro-presidential paper suggests that the BHK’s move is the result of the party’s “extremely big ambitions.” “That is, in return for entering the coalition it demanded too much, fancying itself at least the second ruling party,” it says. “But does such a thing exist in nature? … The number of government positions is inherently limited. If everybody becomes a leader, then who will they lead?”
“Aravot” expects no significant developments on the Armenian political scene in the next three months. “But certainly the presidential race will effectively start in September,” the paper writes in an editorial, predicting a new bout of doomsday rhetoric from the opposition. It says opposition leaders will not succeed in mobilizing and “revolutionizing” the disgruntled electorate with extremely gloomy pronouncements on the state of affairs in Armenia and the country’s future. “Those who believe in that impending Apocalypse do not always decide to take to the streets and chant opposition slogans. The majority’s logic is just the opposite: if we are really headed to ruin, then it’s better to flee this place,” concludes “Aravot.”
(Sargis Harutyunyan)
“Chorrord Inknishkhanutyun” claims that President Serzh Sarkisian will not have a real loyal majority in the parliament and that the Prosperous Armenia Party’s decision to leave the government “drastically weakened” his positions. The pro-opposition daily argues that even according to official results of the May 6 elections Sarkisian’s Republican Party (HHK) and its sole remaining ally, Orinats Yerkir, won between them 49 percent of the vote. “So for the first time ever there is a situation in Armenia where opposition forces elected to the parliament won, according to official data, more votes than the ruling party,” it says.
“Zhamanak” says the BHK’s decision not to join Sarkisian’s government took many in Armenia by surprise. “Almost everyone is now shouting in unison, ‘We don’t believe it,’” the paper says.
“There cannot be two ruling parties and it’s wrong to make people laugh,” reads a headline in “Hayots Ashkhar.” The pro-presidential paper suggests that the BHK’s move is the result of the party’s “extremely big ambitions.” “That is, in return for entering the coalition it demanded too much, fancying itself at least the second ruling party,” it says. “But does such a thing exist in nature? … The number of government positions is inherently limited. If everybody becomes a leader, then who will they lead?”
“Aravot” expects no significant developments on the Armenian political scene in the next three months. “But certainly the presidential race will effectively start in September,” the paper writes in an editorial, predicting a new bout of doomsday rhetoric from the opposition. It says opposition leaders will not succeed in mobilizing and “revolutionizing” the disgruntled electorate with extremely gloomy pronouncements on the state of affairs in Armenia and the country’s future. “Those who believe in that impending Apocalypse do not always decide to take to the streets and chant opposition slogans. The majority’s logic is just the opposite: if we are really headed to ruin, then it’s better to flee this place,” concludes “Aravot.”
(Sargis Harutyunyan)