17:00 . 23/06
“Those who create funds know their weight and the ways to spend them,” the leader of RPA faction Galust Sahakyan said in 2008, when RPA decided Tigran Sargsyan, who was the chairman of the Central Bank for many years, would become the country’s prime minister.
In 2012, when PM Tigran Sargsyan was presenting the programme of already the second government headed by him to the parliament, the opposition MPs firstly expected to hear a report on how the government had implemented its programmes during the 4 years following 2008 and how it had spent the funds trusted to it.
The opposition’s expectations didn’t come true. Only one force in the parliament-Heritage Party- was against the government programme presented by PM Tigran Sargsyan on April 29, 2008: PAP, ARF-D and Orinats Yerkir Party were RPA’s coalition partners.
On June 20, 2012 RPA was almost alone with its programme. Only Orinats Yerkir Party was with it. In 2008 the government programme was approved with 88 votes for, 3 votes against, in 2012 it passed with 75 votes for , 47 votes against and 1 abstention. Four of six political forces of the parliament were against the programme of the government ruled by RPA, but the programme was approved.
RPA ensured absolute majority by the May 6 elections results, and with the vote over the government programme it proved it can approve any issue alone. The government representative, minister of education gave friendly advice: “Put up with the election results for the coming five years”.
During the discussion of the government programme on April 29, 2008 the composition of the government, which came to the National Assembly, included representatives of four different political forces. During the following 4 years, RPA had to redistribute the ministerial portfolios for several times: first they distributed the portfolios of ARF-D, then those of PAP: after all that, in the government formed in 2012, 8 ministerial portfolios belong to RPA, 3 belong to OYP and 3 belong to no party.
While presenting the government programme on April 29, 2008 PM Tigran Sargsyan was not an RPA member, yet. Was this the reason that at that time he finished the presentation of the government programme with Nerses Shnorhali’s words?- "Let the God grant us the wisdom to think, speak and do kind deeds every hour, and let the God prevent from any evil advice, words and acts; and let him forgive us and me-the multi-blameworthy one." It is difficult to say if the government gained wisdom in the 2008-2012 period or not, but in 2009 Tigran Sargsyan became an RPA member and at the end of the government programme presentation in 2012 he quoted the words of RPA Leader and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan: “The historic opportunity to create new Armenia is in our hands, literally in the hands of each of us. And we will do it”.
It is already definite “We” includes RPA and OYP: it was difficult to say if cooperation with OYP inspires such a confidence in RPA, which they lacked in 2008, while saying Shnorhali’s words.
