Well, anyway, this guy had 6 kids and couldn’t pay for heating this winter so Markarian’s son gave him a job. In return, the driver joined the Republican party. Ironically, he seemed somewhat cynical about the election, but couldn’t see any alternative in the form of the opposition.

He also seemed to appreciate Tsarukian. “He’s a good man,” the driver said. “He helps people and employs them.”

Anyway, I’m not saying this is representative of the population, but the last comment is certainly one I keep on hearing in Armenia, rightly or wrongly. Anyway.

3 out of 5 members of the Martirosyan family are party members – the mother, son and daughter are actively involved in various political forces in the electoral period.

“As soon as I learnt that the parliamentary elections will take place on May 12, 2007, I joined the Republican Party,” says Anahit, the mother. “I thought, why not? After all, it’s a high season for making money.”

[…]

Karen, his elder son, is a member of People’s Party. He is a television cameraman, and hopes that Tigran Karapetyan will hire him for his “party services.” Apart from that, he has been taking advantage of other opportunities.

“Indeed, it’s not that I really sympathize with Tigran Karapetyan but it was worth joining for getting help and presents. For example, recently Mr. Karapetyan distributed optical eye glasses free of charge. I took 4 coupons, and provided my whole family with glasses,” Karen tells.

Siranush, his sister, is a student. Prosperous Armenia has promised to pay her tuition of 350.000 dram. That’s why she has become a party member and she has been gathering votes. At first, she regretted for having become a PA member, and then she started to be seriously interested in politics. “I have been persuading my friends that Gaguik

Tsarukyan’s party is the only one that is concerned about the future of Armenia,” she says.

The father of the multy-party family earns a living with the help of his craft – he is a shoemaker. He smiles at the activities of his family members, adding, “I am not a party member. I do not believe in any of the parties. I will vote for the party that gives me cash. I am not scared of anybody, and I am talking openly about this.”

He is sure that only 3 or 4 of the 25 forces participating in the elections have something to say, whereas the others “try to intrude into the National Assembly by throwing mud on each other.”

Tigran, 15, is still a schoolboy but he has already decided to become a deputy, “My mother and father have been talking so much about deputies earning lots of money, buying houses and cars that I have started imagining myself in their place. First, I would like to become very rich, and then I will think about the people, like everybody else does.”

Parties and their deeds are the topics of the Martirosyans’ daily conversations. While having dinner in the evenings, they tell each other the latest news and sometimes even have arguments about the parties. But they are never offended of each other, gladly accepting the presents obtained from the “opponent” party.

It’s kind of ironic that such reports of which the “alternative” media is full of these days probably act more as unintended advertisements for the pro-government parties rather than anything else.