Tadevos Avetisyan, a lawmaker from the Hayastan faction, addressed journalists in the National Assembly, sharply criticizing what he described as the government's contradictory staffing decisions, particularly in the economic and social sectors.
“It turns out that former Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan, who is now facing a criminal case, actually fulfilled his promise, with 7% economic growth. Yet he was dismissed and is now under investigation. Meanwhile, the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, whose sector clearly failed, with none of the government program’s provisions implemented in that area, was appointed as ambassador to the U.S.,” Avetisyan said.
He added that the government’s five-year plan ends in 2026, and its social component has completely failed. According to him, authorities have not fulfilled their promises, especially toward the most vulnerable 40% of the population, including pensioners and low-income workers.
Garnik Danielyan, another MP from the Hayastan faction, commented on state-church relations, recalling that the confrontation began back in 2018 with the “New Armenia, New Catholicos” campaign. Later, the Church History subject was removed from the school curriculum.
“Pashinyan had a strong desire to appoint a catholicos of his own choosing, whether he was a priest or someone else. He simply could not accept that the Church had criticized him multiple times,” Danielyan noted.
He stressed that although Prime Minister Pashinyan previously declared the state should not interfere in church affairs, today the opposite is happening.
“Not only is he interfering, but he is trying to divide the Church, turn it into a sect, and is using administrative resources to attend the liturgy of a defrocked priest. But it is now obvious that this attempt has failed,” the MP stated, emphasizing that such actions violate both the Constitution and the Law on Freedom of Religion.
During a joint session of parliamentary committees, Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan responded to criticism that the ruling Civil Contract party had failed to raise pensions, saying: “If we raise pensions today, pensioners will have a lower standard of living.”
