«Irates»: Even MPs Do Not Respect Pashinyan

«Irates» newspaper writes: ‘Years later, when I am asked what caused Nikol Pashinyan’s government to “fail”, I will answer succinctly: Facebook. I have written before about how the new authorities are dependent on social networks. I distinctly remember that one site photographed the highlights made by then-President’s appointed Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan and published it, which sparked a wave of discontent online, with people debating that the Prime Minister was preoccupied with other matters in the country’s main chamber.

Members of parliament, who were criticized for playing online games, so-called “ball rolling,” also faced backlash. In the current parliament, MPs are not playing games, but are “doing Facebook,” and they are not at all inhibited by the fact that journalists above can notice, film, and publicize everything. Despite this, they might still argue that “media belonging to dark forces are trying to tarnish us.”

It is even more strange when this phenomenon is reflected during Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s speeches. During the recent Q&A session between the government and the National Assembly, the majority of the “My Step” faction’s MPs were not concerned about what question the Prime Minister was answering. With heads bowed into their phones, they were probably counting down the minutes until the last MP would ask their question so they could free their souls and “go about their business.”

Meanwhile, society expected an entirely different quality of parliament, where everyone would be engaged in the process of revitalizing the country, working attentively on legislative packages, and trying to respond to all citizens’ petitions. The detrimental practice of ignoring speakers and being absorbed in Facebook continues to this day and is likely to become even more “refined.”

For more details, see today’s issue of the newspaper.