Even an unsubstantiated optimist will fail to describe Armenian politics as ‘friendly’ or ‘harmonious’. Similarly, it is difficult to describe the current political discourse as ‘future-oriented’. Ultimately, the ‘new’ keep vigorously rejecting the ‘old’, and the ‘old’ keep scolding the ‘new’, whether the latter deserve the rebuke or not. In the result, the public, which has turned into a mere audience, continues to wonder: “Nothing changes in this world…”. This is the political reality you and I have today, and it resembles a kindergarten well-disguised behind resplendent words.

The tomorrow has always contained delicate hints for the present. There are people, social groups and societies that see, hear and perceive the implicit undertones of the inevitable tomorrow. There are also those that recklessly crash into the vortex of the present, creating new swirls and transforming into a new eddy, without even a glance at the friendly guidance of the future.

In the result, the first type of people, social groups, governments, oppositions and societies act beyond maximalism; they make an effort to avoid taking irrevocable turns; they rely on institutional memory and turn into fine or poor architects of the present that believe that ‘the future is the value added that includes the past’. Therefore, every and each action of today is measured against the vision that change of roles in the future is ineluctable. Every action is determined by considering abstractions, such as “What will happen when I will have to be in your shoes?”. These actions become more inclusive and less fierce, thus earning absolution granted by the future for the future.

Understanding of inflation changes over time. Years ago, economists claimed that except the negative social implications of inflation, it has also some positive implications for production and economic growth, and therefore, sometimes a higher level of inflation should be allowed to address some problems of economic development. Time, however, puts things right, and the recurring financial-economic crises, social-economic disasters, and the progressing economic thought resulted in a universally accepted position: inflation is an enemy. 

Time and the To-Do List

When Ilham Aliyev inherited the power from his father, he publicly spoke of the need for more time, and took a break from the negotiations around Artsakh conflict. He needed time to consolidate the power, to understand the essence of the negotiations, to internalize the process and to strengthen his positions. Time showed that he used this time to harden his positions, to arm, to war, to stifle civil society and to establish dictatorship.

Time is an important resource: you can speed it up or slow it down. Post-revolutionary Armenia also should be able to manage time properly. After change of government, and especially after a revolution, time is needed to consolidate power. If Ilham Aliyev was using time to consolidate dictatorship, Armenia needs time to consolidate democracy.

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