YEREVAN. – Representatives of the Armenian authorities confess that there is no final decision yet on what to do with the mandatory funded component of the new pension system, Haykakan Zhamanak daily reported.

“If an impressive crowd is gathered in today’s [Saturday’s] rally [in capital city Yerevan, and against the new pension law], the government will find itself in a quite difficult situation. [President] Serzh Sargsyan repeatedly stated that the mandatory funded [pension] must definitely be launched.

“The authorities fear that today’s rally will be bigger than expected, and they will have to choose between the mandatory funded [pension] and the further expansion of the fight by the “Dem Em [I am against]” [civic initiative, which opposes the new pension law in Armenia].

“Especially against the backdrop of the Russian economic crisis, the mandatory component is the government’s only hope of maintaining a more or less stable economic situation in Armenia.

“And Sargsyan’s PR team thinks that a decision on wavering the mandatory [component], after his decisive statement, will further damage his already damaged image,” Haykakan Zhamanak wrote.