News
Show news feed

We have a problem with poor management, and this is first and foremost an item on the government’s agenda. This is what Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told Azatutyun Radio, touching upon the results of the latest public opinion surveys of the International Republican Institute (IRI).

Based on the results, My Step Alliance would receive nearly 60%, which is 10% less than the results of the survey conducted in October of last year. In response to this, Pashinyan said he isn’t aware of all the surveys. “I can say that the government also conducted surveys before the parliamentary elections, and based on the last survey conducted before the parliamentary elections, I was told that the My Step Alliance had 60%. However, based on the results of the parliamentary elections, My Step Alliance received 70% of the votes. What is the explanation? The results of a survey is based on the answers of 100% of respondents, while there is no 100% turnout of voters during elections. Based on our surveys which I always refer to and which are conducted through certain mechanisms, we don’t record such shifts.”

Touching upon the observation that there is a view that the government doesn’t have high quality and that surveys show that the Office of the Prime Minister has a high indicator, yet there is no confidence in the cabinet since the officials are considered inexperienced and everything is on Pashinyan’s shoulders, the Prime Minister said the following: “Is there poor management in Armenia? Yes, of course there is. What does the new team of young people have to do with this? Let’s picture the system of management. There is a team of young people making up 1 or 2 percent, and 98% is the system of management that existed before shift of power. The problem is not at the human level because this system of management has existed for several years.”

According to Pashinyan, even though the government is currently fighting against corruption, few notice that corruption is a certain system of management. “We are fighting against corruption, but few of us notice that corruption is also a certain system of management because I, as a state official, have to choose how to manage and who I should reserve the right to manage. When there is a corrupt system, there are many problems. Where therea are no corrupt systems and the government is compelled to work by the laws, it turns out that there are many laws, but they existed only for the Venice Commission and other institutions.”

The Prime Minister stated that there are situations where certain issues are not solved through the system of management. “I must say that, in general, our political team is the team that ensured the victory of the non-violent, velvet revolution in the Republic of Armenia. The political team managed to lead the people in some sense, and this political team continues to lead the people and enjoys the trust of the people. This political team has sufficient skills to manage the country, and I believe the period of the revolution attests to that. But of course, we have a problem with poor management, and this is first and foremost an item on our agenda. We are constantly working on this.”

When told that there is criticism that the My Step Alliance also has inexperienced deputies and that this is the rating of the Prime Minister, Pashinyan said the following: “Excuse me, wasn’t it the experienced specialists who led the Republic of Armenia to the situation it was in? Many revolutionaries of the past failed to make a revolution like we did. Young political figures are a different category. Take a look at what prominent revolutionaries or political teams there were before us. They tried to achieve shift of power in Armenia, but failed. In the second stage, the young people have to do what we refer to as economic revolution.”

Pashinyan said this doesn’t mean his team is perfect. “I don’t accept the attempts of political figures and young people for idealization. We all have our flaws and make mistakes. I have never been and still am not satisfied with myself, and be rest assured that I never will be. Those who have worked with me know that I am never satisfied. In a sense, this is bad and sometimes demotivates people. I am trying to overcome this. Sometimes I have expressed my satisfaction with certain actions of our colleagues.”

!
This text available in   Հայերեն and Русский
Print
Read more:
All
Photos