Epress.am News from Armenia
Prosperous Armenia Party founder and former leader Gagik Tsarukyan announced today his return to active politics, claiming that “no political force or politician has managed to fill the gap in the field” since his retirement from politics in 2015. Tsarukyan, who two years ago resigned as PAP chairman after a conflict with Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan, now says he was thereby trying to “avoid bloodshed.”
Political analyst Armen Badalyan believes that Tsarukyan is correct in his claim regarding leaving a gap in politics. “It’s true that after Tsarukyan’s retirement PAP was unable to find an equivalent leader and keep the party at the level it was under Gagik Tsarukyan’s leadership. PAP, instead, turned into a branch of the [ruling] Republican Party. Now, with Tsarukyan’s return, this gap will finally be filled, and PAP will once again become an independent force, with its own resources and power,” the analyst said in a conversation with Epress.am. According to Badalyan, Tsarukyan’s return will enable the Prosperous Armenia Party to have quite an influential faction in the next parliament.
The PAP founder’s retirement, the expert added, also negatively affected the entire political field: the opposition troika, a coalition between PAP, Armenian National Congress, and Heritage Party, as well as several other existing alliances collapsed; the PAP lost its influence.
When asked about the likelihood of the electorate once again trusting Tsarukyan, Badalyan said; “Tsarukyan mainly gets the votes of those who see him as a savior, or those who get financial benefits [by voting for him]. Disappointment is nothing: pay people 10 thousand drams [in election bribes], and the disappointment is taken care of.”