HERITAGE’S UNPRECEDENTED FAVOR TO CONGRESS
Hakob Badalyan

LRAGIR.AM
11:30:13 – 09/06/2009

The criticism towards the Armenian National Congress by the members
of the Heritage party Zaruhi Postanjyan and Armen Martirosyan was a
great surprise for many people. It was understandable, that refusing
to run for Mayor, the Heritage cherished hope in secret to see the HAK
defeated and to take its post as the oppositional force. The surprise
was that the Heritage started very early to use the fact that the HAK
lost the Yerevan Mayor election. In other words, we may register that
the Heritage made a false start. The statement of the leader of the
party Raffi Hovhannisyan probably had the aim to soften the possible
consequences of the very false start. The public would not say,
"Yes, you are right" when it sees the Heritage to step on the HAK a
few days after the election.

This is the reason why Raffi Hovhannisyan is trying to soften
the roughness of the statement of Zaruhi Postanjyan and Armen
Martirosyan. Of course, the statements were not in time and just
from the point of their form, content, but the concern, which they
contained may be justified. We may state, that anyone else may say
anything but not the Heritage, as the party washed its hands at the
Yerevan Mayor election from the political point of view, only calling
on the electors to vote for the HAK. But with the same appeal, they
created the impression among the public, as if appealing to vote for
the HAK they are not going to do the same.

In this state, it is not the Heritage to teach a lesson to the
HAK. But, the impression is created as if the presence of someone,
who will teach a lesson to the HAK became necessity. Obviously, the
HAK is needed to have a competitor in order not to stagnate. Today,
the HAK is losing its main weapon: the influence on the public through
understandable speech. For example, Levon Ter-Petrosyan is wrong to
think that the public took bribes because of the economic decline,
and it did not take this amount of bribes in 2008, as the economic
conditions were comparatively better. In 2007, during the parliamentary
election, the economic conditions were much better than in 2008,
the weather was better too, but in 2007, total electoral bribes were
reigning over the electoral process, while in 2008, it lacked.

The point is that in 2008, the opposition headed by Levon Ter-Petrosyan
told clear and understandable words to the public, explained things
that they used to feel on their own skin, but had not realized
what it was before. They did not realize and were suspecting. They
were suspecting and that is why they took 5, 10, or 20 thousand
drams. But Levon Ter-Petrosyan spoke in 2008, explained, clarified,
and the public listened to him and understood and the electoral
bribes at the presidential election did not play any role. If now,
in 2009, the same society, which refused the electoral bribes in 2008,
returns to it, this means that the opposition gave up speaking in an
understandable language.

So, now, the Heritage, speaking about it, even if not in time,
unconsciously, or unwillingly, perhaps, it is the first time that
the party really makes a favor to the Armenian National Congress,
maybe even not realizing the importance of this service. But the
question is whether the Congress understands its importance.