The "braying donkey" allegory has become a bone of contention between Kocharyan and Pashinyan

ArmInfo. The "braying donkey" allegory has become a bone of contention between Armenia's second president, Robert Kocharyan, and current prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan. It has also become a litmus test of the country's decaying political discourse.

It all began when Kocharyan, during the third episode of the "Big Politics" podcast, touching on the odious election campaign currently being conducted by the ruling Civil Contract party, led by Nikol Pashinyan, noted that political processes in the country have descended to the level of primitivism and are now resembling not just a circus, but a madhouse. He added that he intends to monkey to attract public attention, as such behavior is disrespectful, first and foremost, to the voter. "In my observation, getting lots of views has become a goal these days, no matter what the content. I'll say this half-jokingly, half-seriously: for example, if a well-known Armenian political figure or celebrity starts braying like a donkey live on air, and do so with emotions, it will get millions of views. But if this is the method for getting lots of views, and the person is willing to take such a step, that's their business; let them collect them," Kocharyan said.

The former Armenian president's  comments seemingly  hurt the pride of the Armenian prime minister, who had recently boasted about the high number of views on his social media page. This morning, he went live on his social media, quoting Kocharyan's remarks, and declared: "I suggest Mr. Kocharyan start braying like a donkey live on air and see how many views he gets. I bet his average views won't be exceeded."

The office of Armenia's second president quickly responded to Pashinyan's proposal. Kocharyan's office stated that the second president of Armenia had said one obvious thing: oddities always get a lot of views on social media. The statement also emphasized that Kocharyan did not attribute his words to anyone in particular. "But for some reason, Pashinyan has taken this hard. Calm down, weakling, you have no equal when it comes to braying. Spring and escalation can be manifested in screaming, breaking dishes, tearing clothes, cursing, and so on. This will continue until the morning of June 8, when a postman delivers a summons to the madhouse," Kocharyan's office concluded.

Earlier, the Armenian prime minister boasted on social media that his page had been gaining significant views in recent weeks. It's also worth noting that on February 28, the Armenian prime minister announced the launch of an election campaign ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections, during which Pashinyan and his team are traveling around the country and meeting with citizens. During this campaign, the Armenian prime minister and the speaker of parliament are constantly seen eating something: whether it be corn, pies, or potatoes. For example, on the day Israel and the US began their aggression against Iran, Pashinyan was seen joyfully devouring pies live on air. This action sparked a wave of criticism in Armenian society and led to numerous jokes and memes around the world.