Wednesday, January 25 2017 14:46

ArmInfo.  WikiLeaks has published another "information leak" about the political processes in Armenia in 2009.  

The source says that while expressing admiration for the then Prime  Minister Tigran Sargsian's intellect and commitment to badly needed  reform, on March 20, 2009, Armenian oligarch Mikhail Bagdasarov was  scathing about Sargsian's performance as prime minister. "In  Bagdasarov's view, Tigran Sargsian's ineffectiveness as prime  minister has accelerated the political rise of Hovik Abrahamian, the  current Speaker of the National Assembly," Mr. Joseph Pennington,  Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan in 2007-10,  told the details to the US Department of State.   

"When Armenia's power players oligarchs, politicians, ministers   have disagreements or want to get something done, he said, they now  ignore the PM and come to Abrahamian. Bagdasarov claimed that  Abrahamian won the loyalty and gratitude of members of parliament  shortly after his appointment as Speaker by allowing all MPs to hire  a paid professional staffer a move that had been proposed to, and  rejected by, PM Sargsian. He noted that Abrahamian now orchestrates  the question-and-answer sessions the PM must hold in the National  Assembly in a way that puts the PM in the most unfavorable light  possible, openly encouraging MPs to criticize and even ridicule   PM Sargsian. While Bagdasarov would not be drawn out on his own views  of Abrahamian, he warned that the Speaker "should not be  underestimated," the source notes. 

"He claimed that through his effective deal-making, behind-the-scenes  problem-solving, and image as an honest broker, Abrahamian had formed  a virtual "shadow government" within parliament, thereby  marginalizing the PM and other ministers. This task was made easier,  he contended, by the fact that most ministers in the GOAM are  "amateurs" who require "on-the-job training." He predicted that  Abrahamian would become Armenia's next prime minister (though he did  not view the current PM's demise as imminent) and, ultimately, the  country's next President," WikiLeaks says.

The source also points out that "Bagdasarov argued that Abrahamian   who has served as a governor, a minister, and now as speaker has  methodically built a national base of support, and has cleverly  balanced his loyalties with former President Kocharian, his first  patron, and current President Sargsian. He also revealed that through  the upcoming marriage of his son, Abrahamian will become an in-law to  Prosperous Armenia leader and mega-oligarch Gagik Tsarukian, thereby  securing his ties to another major power player on the Armenian  political scene." 

"Abrahamian is regarded by outside observers and many Armenians   as an unpolished, poorly educated and parochial figure, a crass  nouveau riche whose brand of dirty-money politics, abuse of state  "administrative resources," and cunning opportunism is in the worst  tradition of recent Armenian politics.  Nevertheless, we agree with  Bagdasarov that he should not be underestimated," the source  stresses. 

To note, ArmInfo's sources in the ruling Republican Party of Armenia  report that Hovik Abrahamian has recently taken a decision to leave  the RPA following his meeting with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry  Medvedev in Moscow.  ArmInfo previously reported about that meeting,  citing its own sources. Abrahamian confirmed that information,  however, he noted that the meeting did not cover political issues.  Nevertheless, ArmInfo's sources in the RPA claim that it was Medvedev  that advised Abrahamian to leave the party after the ex-prime  minister complained that his position in the RPA has seriously  weakened.  Medvedev advised Abrahamian to run in the upcoming  parliamentary elections as a member of the Gagik Tsarukyan bloc.  On  returning to Armenia, Abrahamian met with some prominent RPA  representatives and tried to persuade them to leave the RPA and join  the Gagik Tsarukyan bloc. The details of the talks are not clear,  however, Abrahamian himself has submitted a notice to leave the party  and then met with Tsarukyan to discuss his inclusion in the Gagik  Tsarukyan bloc. The latter rejected Abrahamian's request, saying that  the electorate will not welcome his in-law's inclusion in the bloc.   Tsarukyan reminded Abrahamian of his speech during the RPA Council's  session in Feb 2015, when the ex- prime minister promised "to knock  some sense" into Tsarukyan's head. "How can I explain to people that  the man threatening 'to knock some sense' into my head has been  included in my bloc?" Tsarukyan replied.