Tuesday, 26 November 2024

E Editorial

The art of speaking sincerely to people

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One of the most important qualities for those who are involved in politics is the ability to talk to ordinary citizens. It is significant to understand what problems those citizens have, how they think, and accordingly, how to influence their behavior, especially during elections.

It is often stated that politics is immoral, and during the "hunting" of voters, such politicians are ready to say whatever a common person wants to hear: make promises and, as a rule, fail to keep them. It is, of course, so, and hence serious political forces turn to political technologists, psychologists, and anthropologists and conduct sociological surveys before the elections, followed by a period of populism and manipulations.

For better or for worse, such are the rules of democracy. Accordingly, many consider the monarchical order preferable, in which there are no elections and there is no demand for electoral manipulations. Or, if we consider it in terms of the modern order, there is a model of constitutional monarchy, where the executive and legislative powers are elected, but there are also monarchs who monitor the implementation of the Constitution and, in extreme cases, use their rarely exercised powers to dissolve the parliament, single-handedly appoint a provisional government, etc.

Such a decisive moment for Armenia could have been the event of 2018 or the blockade of the courts by the government in 2019, which was an illegal process, a coup. By and large, the crisis created after the 2020 war could have been resolved by the monarch.

We do not have a monarchical order. The president's institute essentially is called upon to perform

the functions of a monarch in the parliamentary government model, is very limited, which is one of the greatest shortcomings of the current Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, for which we pay a high price. However, we have what we have. Given the current situation, let's observe the ability to talk to the voters, which is the only way for the political forces.

In today's Armenia, we have a populist government, which, while failing in everything, is able to communicate with the grassroots, confesses love, and talk about the abuse, plunder and oppression of the corrupt rulers in the past. In fact, the country, both in terms of its security, social issues and morale, is on the verge of collapse, but for the rank and file and ordinary citizens, the populists’ words are heartwarming; moreover, they had longed for them for 30 years since independence. We have an opposition that talks about patriotism, security, and other important issues but is unable to speak clearly and sincerely to the common citizens in a language they can comprehend. As a result, we have found ourselves in a desperate situation, and there is no light at the end of the tunnel.

This is the imperative of the time: we need a new force that is responsible, not populist, but comprehensible to the common people.

The Armenian Center for National and International Studies

Yerznkian 75, 0033
Yerevan, Armenia

Tel.:

+374 10 528780 / 274818

Website:

www.acnis.am

  

The views of the authors do not necessarily reflect those of the Center.

While citing the content, the reference to "ACNIS ReView from Yerevan” is obligatory.