Armenian newspapers focus on the speech by President Serzh Sarkisian during the opening session of the new parliament on Thursday.
“Zhamanak” suggests that this should not be the speech of an outgoing president who has only one year left in power: “When it is known that the government will need to resign in a year and a new government will need to be formed then, and given that Serzh Sarkisian leaves the question of the next government still vague, it is at least incorrect to set GDP, export and other statistical targets for a five-year term. It would have been more logical to set a target for the coming one-year period, thus also informing the public about what criteria will be used in choosing the next prime minister and the next cabinet.”
Analyzing the economic part of Sarkisian’s address, “Haykakan Zhamanak” writes: “The main peculiarity of the speech was that for achieving certain targets Serzh Sarkisian set a deadline that is too far for assessments. The deadline for target programs is set for 2040 and it won’t be possible to assess whether Sarkisian’s assignments have been fulfilled or not for another 23 years. And even so, Sarkisian sets targets for achieving which one shouldn’t do anything extraordinary. The best Armenia will achieve is the level of Antigua and Barbuda, Trinidad and Tobago, and Equatorial Guinea. It’s a wonderful prospect, isn’t it? Of course, if the HHK remains in power during the next 23 years, even this prospect will become very doubtful.”
“Chorrord Ishkhanutyun” suggests that Sarkisian’s speech was very entertaining for those present in the parliament chamber because he also addressed prospects of economic development and target indicators for 2040. “Opinions in the corridors were different. Some thought that if Sarkisian spoke about economic showings for 2040, it meant that he intended to stay in power until that year. Others, on the contrary, thought that he spoke about 2040 because at that time he certainly will not be in power and, consequently, will not be accountable for his words. Yet some others were trying to understand who was the speechwriter in order to have photographs taken with him,” the paper writes sarcastically.
(Tigran Avetisian)