YEREVAN. – The newly elected Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) Chairperson Naira Zohrabyan is a strong person, but she is not omnipotent, political technologist Karen Kocharyan said at a press conference on Friday.
Kocharyan noted that he knows Zohrabyan for many years and believes that she will be able to change something in Armenia, albeit it will be difficult for her as a female politician.
In his words, even though the PAP has become a more political force since Thursday, the political arena in Armenia has been pulverized and there are no political players.
“Today, they have turned politics into business. You need money, but this doesn’t mean whoever has money should enter politics. Money has become an objective for the political arena,” the analyst noted.
As reported earlier, speaking at the February 12 meeting of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) Board, President Serzh Sargsyan, who is also chairman of the RPA Board, had stated that then-PAP Chairman, MP and oligarch Gagik Tsarukyan had become a vice for the country as a political player. He also relieved the PAP leader from his status as a National Security Council member, and promised that a process will begin in connection with Tsarukyan’s frequent absence from the parliament sessions.
In response to President Sargsyan’s remarks, Gagik Tsarukyan issued a statement, on February 13, noting that the incumbent authorities must be removed from power immediately. In addition, he urged to achieve Serzh Sargsyan’s resignation by way of lawful political methods.
On February 17, however, Serzh Sargsyan and Gagik Tsarukyan held a brokered talk, and on the next day, the then-PAP leader issued a milder statement. He also called off the rally that was slated for February 20.
And on Thursday, March 5, Tsarukyan announced that he is quitting active politics, PAP National Assembly Faction Secretary Naira Zohrabyan was elected new leader of the Prosperous Armenia Party, and she declared the latter—which had been a non-pro-government force until now—an opposition party.
