Republican Party spokesman Edward Sharmazanov said today that he sees nothing unusual in the recent union of the Armenia’s Progressive Party with the Prosperous Armenia Party, even if the move came right before the latter’s party convention. "It’s a move taken by political forces. I don’t think the Republican Party has anything to worry about. Consolidation of political parties has always been a trend in the civilized world," Sharmazanov stated, adding that the Republican Party will always remain Armenia’s most influential political force. When asked by Hetq why he was so sure of this, Sharmazanov responded that the conviction id the result of sociological polling and the results of local elections. Over the past 18 months, the Republican Party has won more than 70% of contested local elections. Sharmazanov labelled the Republican Party as a conservative political structure and compared it to the Conservative Party in Britain and the Republican Party in the U.S.