“Haykakan Zhamanak” suggests that tycoon Gagik Tsarukian, who has not ruled out his return to politics ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections, may have received a “carte blanche” from President Serzh Sarkisian. The paper writes: “Sarkisian now needs Tsarukian more than it may seem. And so, like [prime minister] Karen Karapetian has received a carte blanche in relations with certain corrupt official and petty oligarchs, Tsarukian has one in the matter of taking revenge upon the Republican Party members who once insulted him.”
According to the pro-opposition daily, Tsarukian’s role may be not so much in the opposition field as in counterbalancing Karapetian’s ambitions and “possible plans to create groupings around him.”
“Zhoghovurd” sees an upcoming parliamentary debate on the government-drafted bill on political parties as an acid test for some nominally opposition “one-man” parties: “For about two years advocates of the new Constitution were giving assurances that the parliamentary form of government will considerably increase the role and significance of political parties, presenting it as an important achievement. The new government-drafted bill on political parties has already been brought to parliament. But a close look at the document reveals that these authorities do not really want to increase the role of political parties. Depending on what proposals they make during the upcoming debate, it will also become clear how far Armenian parties are interested in the establishment of a real party system and the abolishment of so-called “one-man” parties.”
(Elen Chilingarian)
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