Friday, April 20 2018 17:05

ArmInfo. The Economist writes: "I BELIEVE that one person must not aspire to the reins of power more than twice in a lifetime," Serzh Sargsyan, then president of Armenia, declared in 2014.

But the unpopular Mr Sargsyan, whose second (and  final) consecutive term as president expired on April 9th, was just  kidding. On April 17th the national assembly, stacked with loyalists,  elected him as the country's new prime minister. Even many members of  the biggest "opposition" group voted for him.

Around 10,000 protesters in Yerevan, the capital, took to the streets  before the vote, chanting "Reject Serzh!" Police used tear-gas to  disperse them. With hindsight Mr Sargsyan's intentions have long been  clear. Constitutional changes he enacted in December 2015, which take  effect this month, grant the prime minister nearly all the powers  previously held by the president. The amendments also scrapped direct  elections for the presidency, ensuring that this post too is occupied  by one of Mr Sargsyan's yes-men.

Mr Sargsyan insists that a parliamentary system will strengthen  democracy. Many Armenians are unconvinced. Hovsep Khurshudyan of the  Armenian Centre for National and International Studies, a think-  tank, calls the change "groundless". The new, convoluted electoral  system almost guarantees Mr Sargsyan's Republican party a majority.

After a decade in power, Mr Sargsyan has little to boast of. The  economy, reliant on remittances from Russia, has barely grown.  Unemployment is at nearly 20%. Three in ten Armenians fall below a  poverty line of $2.90 a day, more than in 2008. The borders with  Azerbaijan and Turkey are closed. Foreign investors are deterred by  corruption. Oligarchs control the main industries, Mr Sargsyan among  them.

The new prime minister has a three-pronged agenda. First comes  economic integration with the European Union, Armenia's  second-largest trading partner after Russia. On April 11th the  national assembly ratified a "partnership agreement" committing to  more regulatory harmonisation with the EU. Second is stemming  depopulation. Around 300,000 Armenians, fully 10% of the total, have  left the country since 2008. Last year Mr Sargsyan set a target  population of 4m by 2040. The last prong is making Armenia an  information- technology powerhouse.

These goals are not particularly realistic. The partnership agreement  with the EU is a weaker version of an association agreement which Mr  Sargsyan turned down in 2013, choosing instead to join Russia's  Eurasian Economic Union. The population target entails no concrete  proposals. Mr Sargsyan wants to tempt back some of the 7m-10m ethnic  Armenians abroad, but it is unclear how many want to return.  Armenia's IT sector is the fastest-growing part of the economy,  making up 7% of GDP in 2017, but it is mainly known for its cheap  labour. And there is tough competition from Ukraine and Romania. Mr  Sargsyan's stint in his new job is likely to be underwhelming. Soon,  he may come to appreciate the wisdom of his words from 2014.