"Fact" daily writes:
From the very beginning of the year 2025, it was obvious that the country's social and political life is (and will be) in the stage of reshaping and searching, where the relationship between the government, opposition, civil society, changes in public moods, as well as the integration of external influences will play a decisive role in terms of the development of both current events and future political processes, especially considering the significant impact of the parliamentary elections expected next year.
As in the past years, in the past year, the driving force of domestic political life remained the atmosphere of hatred, mutual intolerance and blasphemy. It is natural that constructive and substantive discussions become impossible in such a toxic atmosphere. As a result, we witnessed more mutual accusations than meaningful discussions on political platforms.
And despite the fact that the authorities of RA announced about following democratic values and recorded progress, all democratic traditions in our country were consistently violated and continue to be violated. As a result, political persecution reached its peak (although, as many experts note, everything is still ahead, and perhaps we have not yet reached the peak).
The situation showed that if any person is engaged in politics and, moreover, is included in the ranks of the opposition, then he is a potential target of the law enforcement baton. At the same time, a number of high-ranking churchmen reported under legal pressure, which was due to the manifestations of sharp opposition between the Church and the political authorities.
In the history of newly independent Armenia, a similar case was never recorded, that the Church, as a separate institution, with all its shortcomings, was attacked by the head of the political power, who tramples all written and unwritten moral and legal norms. In addition, Pashinyan's government continued to discredit our national value system, from history to national symbols.
As a result of that, the so-called "real Armenia" concept was formed, which distorts the historical past of the Armenian people. Along with all this, it became clear during 2025 that Pashinyan will go to the elections with a "peace agenda", the cornerstone of which is the conclusion of a peace treaty with Azerbaijan, the alternative of which is a new war.
But the situation is very fragile, and due to the change in the international situation, the fragile peace can collapse very quickly, which will be followed by another round of escalation. Although, no peace document has been signed...
While Armenia continued to make concessions to Azerbaijan during the year, the ranking and popularity of the ruling political force was on the decline. Since CP is a one-man party, it is devastating for him that Nikol Pashinyan's political positions have especially weakened, leading to a sharp drop in his rating, reaching 11.5-13%.
In other words, he has lost his popularity forever, and his party, as a political unit, has no sign of rank at all. This means that in case of fair, free and honest elections, the CP can at most hope to overcome the temporary threshold.
That is why Nikol Pashinyan is preparing for anti-democratic elections, and for that he is trying to find support abroad, so that external forces will support him in re-establishment as a result of some agreements.
There are signs of anxiety in Azerbaijan along with the activation of the opposition in Armenia, and it is not excluded that Turkey and Azerbaijan will continue to take symbolic steps to support the current authorities, so that Pashinyan's government will be restored next year and continue on the path of concessions.
On the other hand, despite the fact that the positions of the ruling political force continued to weaken since the beginning of the year, which was due to both internal dissatisfaction and incompetent foreign policy from the point of view of protecting the country's interests, the opposition forces could not take advantage of the moment and implement a change of power.
During the past year, the opposition kept away from the street movement, concentrating its forces more towards next year's parliamentary elections.
Now, new transformations have started in the opposition field, new forces have submitted an application to appear in the parliament, why not, in order to achieve a change of power.
However, the opposition forces still do not manage to form a unified platform, and in some cases, these political units are busy slandering each other more than criticizing the authorities, which is just grist to Nikol Pashinyan's mill.
The beginning of 2026 will be decisive in terms of forming new associations and alliances in the opposition field, as well as reaching agreements between physically ununited forces on some fundamental issues. As for the public, during the year, maximum inertness towards political processes was maintained within the society, which was the result of people's disappointment with politics.
ARTHUR KARAPETIAN
