Where is the Republican Party Heading? - Armen Ashotyan

In an article published in the 'Aravot' newspaper, the Vice President of the Republican Party, Armen Ashotyan, writes: "On one hand, we are returning to our ideological roots, and on the other hand, we are fully aligned with European political trends.

The tectonic shifts of the modern world have significantly impacted both the content and form of politics—on both global and local levels. Traditional parties have faced the new face of post-industrial society in the information age, often unprepared to immediately offer adequate solutions. Instead, new political entities have emerged worldwide, especially in the West, which lack the hierarchical structure, history, and solid ideological foundation of their predecessors, resembling more political projects than classical parties.

An Armenian example of this phenomenon is the Pashinyan-led 'Civil Contract'. Alongside this process, in the face of a false liberal and radical liberal assault targeting the traditional value systems, frameworks, and philosophies of societies, new social and political movements have gained momentum in various countries, based on the self-preservation instinct of peoples striving to save tradition and identity from the clutches of globalization.

For long and enduring years, the European political landscape had two political super-polars: conservatives and social democrats, which transformed over time into bureaucratic structures, smoothing their ideological sharp edges and moving towards the political center. Such a predominantly bipolar political reality in European countries ensured public consensus and allowed the advancement of the European Union project. The existence of liberals, greens, nationalists, and other political groups did not disrupt the overall picture, as they were more of a satellite to the aforementioned poles.

We can separately analyze why this political structure consumed its objective basis for existence, and as the recent European Parliament elections demonstrated, the European political landscape has now entered a phase of fragmentation and disintegration with diverse political configurations and strengthened political actors from both the right and left.

The Armenian Republican Party has initially positioned itself as a national conservative party in our country, based on the teachings of Garegin Nzhdeh. Over its nearly 30 years of existence, the party's ideological foundation has evolved and sharpened, incorporating fundamental elements of European conservatism and Christian democracy.

Since 2011, the party has been a member of the European People's Party, the largest center-right family in Europe. Like any ruling party, during its political responsibilities over the years, an administrative component surfaced and hardened in our country, causing bureaucratization in the decision-making mechanism within the party to begin competing with ideology.

This occurred similarly with German, French, and Scandinavian parties. After the change of power, the Republican Party also received a unique chance to both re-crystallize its ideological foundation and, following the experiences of its European sister parties, to expand that component.

A highly visible and successful example of such transformation can be seen in the Austrian People's Party, which, after losing power and facing the rising ratings of the far-right, strengthened its ideological foundations, winning votes from former nationalists, and made a spectacular return to power.

Similarly, the Greek conservative party 'New Democracy' achieved a convincing victory in the last parliamentary elections. Conservative forces that were unable to do this continue to face significant difficulties in every election, such as the waning glory of conservatives in Germany and France.

In conclusion, I can assert that we are, on one hand, returning to our ideological roots, and on the other hand, fully aligned with European political trends.”

For more details, refer to today's edition of the newspaper.