ArmInfo. The Armenian society needs strong, charismatic leaders with radical political views, Deputy Director of the Caucasus Institute Sergey Minasyan said at a press conference in Yerevan on September 6.
He said the need is dictated by the public sentiments the country witnessed during the July events (seizure of a police compound in Yerevan by Sasna Tsrer (Daredevils of Sassoon) group - editor's note). At the same time, the expert is convinced that the processes inside the country were sparked by the actions of the authorities, which marginalized the political forces of the country in all possible and impossible ways. "I am sure in a month Armenia will see interesting processes, because the election campaign will kick off. All political forces will try to take part in these processes one way or another," Minasyan said, noting that in his latest interview the second president of Armenia Robert Kocharyan touched on the Karabakh peace process and the actions of the Sasna Tsrer group.
The expert thinks Kocharyan's interview was well-timed, because he was able to wait for the dust to settle, and expressed his clear viewpoint about these two important issues for the Armenian society.
Minasyan pointed out that the upcoming parliamentary elections to be held in spring 2017 will be of much significance in the light of the constitutional reforms. The expert thinks some political coalitions may be set up to achieve certain results. "Today, in the post-Soviet space we see various political forces consolidating around technical mechanisms to achieve specific goals rather than around a common ideology. We see such examples in Armenia, too," he said.
To note, in December 2015 a constitutional referendum was held in Armenia and the country switched to a parliamentary form of government. As a matter of fact, a new head of the state will be elected during the parliamentary elections of 2017.