There is widespread social discontent in Armenia, Head of the Caucasus Institute Alexander Iskandaryan told journalists February 3. One does not need to be a gifted political scientist to see it, he said.

“Social discontent is obvious, but developments need to follow a different logic for this discontent to acquire political nature,” Iskandaryan said. The social discontent is not “politically expressed” in Armenia, which creates a phenomenon defined by Iskandaryan as “Arkady Vardanyan phenomenon” – a third political force springs up during every election and unites some people. “Levon Ter-Petrosyan took advantage of this phenomenon. He as if said to the people: `I am the protest’. And the people followed him. Tigran Karapetyan is trying to do the same, but he is not so successful,” Iskandaryan said. The reason may be that no elections are taking place now.

As to the difference between the “masses” attending Ter-Petrosyan’s rallies and Tigran Karapetyan’s rallies, the expert said that true supporters of Ter-Petrosyan can be found at the rallies, whereas Tigran Karaperyan’s rallies are attended by those “won over” when he had a TV channel.

“We should realize, however, that politics is not Tigran Karapetyan in the streets. In Armenia politic is shaped in one hundred cabinets, with different echoes heard from there,” Iskandaryan said. Changing the subject, he touched on “hidden confrontation” within the ruling coalition – Republican Party of Armenia and Prosperous Armenia Party. “”Armenia’s political scene has an interesting feature: there is no Opposition, but there are several Oppositions. The Opposition is not united just as the so-called coalition. Struggle is taking place within its ranks – for ministerial posts, import and export, customs duties, and many other things,” Iskandaryan said. He pointed out that all this will come to the surface during elections because each of them parties has “squabbles” within its ranks.