POLITICS

Manvel SARKISIAN

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Manvel Sarkisian, Expert at the Caucasus Center (Erevan, Armenia)

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The referendum on the Constitution that was held, with numerous violations, in November 2005 was responsible for society’s complete alienation from what was going on in the country and entirely ruined the opposition’s prestige among the people. The government was disorganized, while the ruling coalition came too close to a split. In this context, the political parties and the government pinned their hopes on the parliamentary elections of 2007 and, to an even greater extent, on the presidential election of 2008.

A. The Government and the Opposition at the Beginning of 2006

Late in 2005 the idea of a presidential successor appeared on the domestic scene. While the media were engrossed in idle discussions about a possible successor, a potential alliance between Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian and one of the political parties developed into a problem much discussed by the political community. The minister was gradually moving toward the epicenter of public and political life; his presidential ambitions were growing more and more obvious.

It was at that time that the political community started talking about certain contradictions between President Kocharian and Defense Minister Sarkisian, who was considered his favorite, an unprecedented feature of the country’s political life. It was at that time that he was first described as a possible successor.

Early in 2006, the government demonstrated its illusory unity for the last time when President Kocharian suggested that……………

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