‘Real Armenia’ the only way Pashinyan can be re-elected in 2026 parliamentary election, Italian newspaper says
Last week, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addressed the nation with what was billed as an “ideological message”. Since early last year, he has been pushing his own vision of the country’s future that would represent an almost total overhaul of traditional Armenian thinking since independence was declared in 1991, Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa writes.
Pashinyan’s critics, however, charge that his plans to transform the country from a “Historical Armenia” with a more contemporary “Real Armenia” serves other purposes. Simply, they allege, that is to rewrite history in such a way as to absolve himself of criticism of the way he lost the country’s war with Azerbaijan in 2020. It might also be the only way he can win re-election in parliamentary elections scheduled for mid-2026.
In the hour-long address, Pashinyan outlined 14 key points in a framework concept for this “Real Armenia”. Meanwhile, Yerevan and Baku continue to negotiate an agreement to normalize relations, leading the opposition to accuse him of making unilateral concessions, especially in terms of changing the country’s constitution.
“Nonetheless, ever since coming to power in 2018, Pashinyan has long planned to change the constitution. Pandemic and the war prevented him from doing so,” the newspaper writes.
Not surprisingly, one of his main detractors, former Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian, has already called on the opposition to turn the concept against him. He described Pashinyan as an “empty excuse for incompetence, defeatism, and the betrayal of Armenia’s dignity”. The article notes that passing a new constitution will not be easy.
In order to do so, a minimum turnout will be necessary as well as gaining the support of a majority of voters. Pashinyan’s electoral popularity currently stands at 11 percent according to a survey held in January. Nonetheless, if Pashinyan can deliver on his promise to pursue the “peace agenda” with Azerbaijan he promised in snap-elections in 2021, and also present growing ties with the West as a major success, his trademark populism could prove effective. “Though the outcome remains uncertain, a much needed and unprecedented discussion about the country’s future has at least started and the coming months will likely prove more important than at any time before,” reads the article.
