Fact: Bonuses for Insiders, Optimizations for Others

According to the ‘Fact’ newspaper, the main information topic during the weekend was the issue of bonuses. Several regional governors decided to grant high bonuses to themselves, their deputies, and assistants on the eve of the New Year. Any action taken by the new authorities, including those related to financial transactions, is under the public's scrutiny, which is natural. Stereotypes associated with the previous government have not been completely eradicated, and the conduct of the current power structure lends some vitality to these stereotypes.

However, the issue is not the bonuses themselves but rather the authorities' continued reckless waste of their entrusted enormous political capital. The public expects a qualitatively new elite, which, naturally, is held to high demands, yet this elite is far from exhibiting any form of asceticism; quite the opposite.

Moreover, they even express discontent about being compared to the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) or question whether they have the right to enjoy traditional dishes like khash. There is another side to this issue as well. The authorities continuously announce government optimizations and efficiency improvements, which imply some painful reforms. A draft of structural changes to the government is already on the table, and it is presumed that certain ministries will merge while others may be closed altogether. In this context, the scandalous topic of bonuses becomes a solid counter-argument against these changes. It turns out that such changes are implemented for others, but never at the expense of the political team itself. The bonuses have also been divided accordingly — among themselves, but not for lower and middle-level employees, who are the ones in need of these bonuses for their motivation. Instead, these lower and middle-level employees are constantly threatened with optimization.

Besides personnel bankruptcy, this policy can lead to another outcome, where out of fear of optimization, a process of politicization begins in all ranks, and in this case, the flow will begin towards the Civil Contract Party (CCP) instead of the RPA, naturally driven by the desire not to lose their jobs.