Today is the 1st anniversary of the presidential elections of 2008. Have there been any positive changes in the political or economic lives of the country since the last year? During the interview to our reporter the chair of the Union of Political Scientists Hmayak Hovhannisyan mentioned, “There were no positive changes because at present we are not able to overcome the bans of the global economic crisis, which was inevitable for Armenia. Of course, it would be desirable if the moral-psychological atmosphere was cured so that the society would be able to withstand the crisis at least at the expense of positive environment. Unfortunately it didn’t happen and all the gloomy specifics, which had been characteristic to the Armenian reality since the 90s, remained and perhaps got even more deepened. These phenomena are most demonstrated in the political sector because it is the sector where the flaws of the society are being reflected. Social polarization was most activated in politics; in economy the monopolies were even more developed, which caused the creation of oligarchic economy, the dramatic state of the small and medium businesses and absence of the middle class. These are the flaws, which jeopardize our independence. What we had during the past year was the consequence of the parliamentary election of 2007 and post-electoral developments. And the “political” model, which was attempted to invest via the parliament, caused the instability of March 1.”
