At the 13th Republican Party Congress, President Serzh Sargsyan sounded more like a party leader preparing for the upcoming elections than a head of state.

The main thrust of his lengthy address was to convince society to place their trust in the Republic Party. This appeal was so bold-faced that what went unanswered was the reason why citizens of Armenia should continue to vote for a party that’s been in power for the past 13 years.

President Sargsyan failed to note the qualities, important achievements and the party’s vision for the future. So why should voters believe his exhortations to re-elect him and the party he heads.

President Sargsyan merely kept hammering home the same line – Trust and believe in us for we are the party in power.

“I do not wish to belittle or underestimate the sincere and national work carried out by any political movement or party. Moreover, I am proud that our political life is so diverse. However, it is our party, with its resources and potential, that can continue to lead us to new economic policies and relations, towards change and modernization,” noted President Sargsyan.

This declaration is not merely a philosophy of reproducing the regime, but a manifestation of a mentality that sees being the ruling regime as a value in and of itself; one that denies dissidence. This is such a model of authority, where mistakes, no matter how crucial or decisive, are viewed as virtues.

“We can correct the mistake made by those doing things. Such a mistake, in fact, has a greater value than those empty and barren manifestations, seemingly correct, made by those who do nothing,” said Serzh Sargsyan.

In essence, the president is proposing that we accept a mistake as a virtue, rather than the lessons to be learnt from it. And this is a special address to the entire administrative apparatus, to the public at large – that the government sees nothing as a mistake. Consequently, there can be no talk of accountability for any mistakes made. Furthermore, this means that any critique is to be regarded as “empty and barren manifestations, seemingly correct, made by those who do nothing.”

Besides all this, what was more important is the picture the president sketched of his new Armenia.

Truth be told, we got no inkling of this picture other than a reference to change and a desire for change.

But change to what end and for whom – the country, nation, or societal development?

Naturally, the president has an answer to this – there is no faith in the future or the road leading to it.

This is the reason the president placed great stress on the restoration of faith.