At a National Assembly press briefing, several deputies gave their evaluations of President Serzh Sargsyan's first year in office. Heritage Party Deputy Larisa Alaverdyan summed up her thoughts in one sentence - "The only achievement is that the events of March 1, 2008, haven't been repeated." ARF Deputy Vahan Hovhannisyan stated that there "weren't reasons to applaud" and added that mush more could have been accomplished. In his view the most important success of the government was that internal stability had been restored in Armenia. Mr. Hovhannisyan noted that the current difficulties facing the country could be divided into two parts. The first being the financial crisis and the second is the heightened pressure being exerted by Azerbaijan and Turkey. "All this creates objective difficulties for us, but there are subjective hurdles as well that can be tied to the perception of democracy. Various political forces have different perceptions of this concept. It is only natural that such disagreements also exist within the ruling coalition," he noted. Prosperous Armenia Party Deputy Naira Zohrabyan stated that it would be conducive to evaluate the activities of the president from an internal and external policy perspective. "In the foreign affairs sector it was a pro-active policy that was acceptable to us. The correct emphasis was placed when it came to the Karabakh conflict and to Turkey. Dynamic movement was visible." As regards internal policy matters, Ms. Zohrabyan noted that, "The course of the second round of reforms that was certified by the presidential elections naturally slowed as a result of the March 1st events. But today there is the clear political will to overcome the March 1st syndrome. I am convinced that the president's call for dialogue with all forces is in force." Galust Sahakyan, who heads the Republican Party faction in the parliament, noted that much had been said regarding the achievements but added that, "We are doubly determined than ever, than one year ago, in all matters. Our successes are plainly evident." Mr. Sahakyan confessed that omissions existed. "We could have done more. Those evaluations being heard today regarding the work of the president's first year in office, I believe, are not always clearly defined by our side. We haven't learned the role of populism in politics," he concluded.