The president is happy with the situation of dissatisfied citizens

The President in a traditional positive way spoke about successes in the foreign policy, which was arithmetically expressed in the number of foreign visits, meetings with heads of state and government, holding forums, etc. All this, of course, could have a direct influence on the economy, but certainly, not in the first quarter.

As for the very topic of the meeting - socio-economic development, the data presented reflected more macroeconomic indicators of dubious state statistics, which, incidentally, led the economy to collapse, as well as plans for the implementation of mega-projects, in particular in the agricultural sector, which are aimed at further Monopolization of the economy in the hands of the Azerbaijani oligarchy.

However, the average Azerbaijani citizen, barely making ends meet, is unlikely to be optimistic about development either, when manat has strengthened by 15% since the beginning of the year, but prices have not fallen by an iota in the last two years. The government noted the first quarter of the next increase in the retirement age now from 63 to 65 for men and from 60 to 65 for women, apparently also taking into account the need to ensure gender equality. Students did not receive scholarships for the first quarter. Pensions were raised only in the insurance part by 10-15 manat, which did not affect the welfare of pensioners. Everything is simple, there is really nothing to pay.

The meeting revealed two important aspects that create a dissonance of the first and final part of the president's speech about the forecasts and future affairs. The president, like at the beginning of the year at the government meeting, did not mention the strategic road map for reforms, which he approved in December 2016, and included 11 directions for economic development.

This could mean that Aliyev decided to postpone the reforms that he promised to start in April after the September referendum on constitutional changes. The reason for this may be the rise in oil prices, the perturbation in Washington and the uncertainty of the foreign policy course of the Trump administration, but the most important thing is the absence of any protest message from the society dissatisfied with the socio-economic situation, including the first quarter of this year.

Another indicator that Aliyev took a time-out is that the first vice-president Mehriban Aliyeva, responsible for the socio-economic bloc, was not present at the meeting. It is possible that her absence is due to the study of the sphere of responsibility and the formation of a team of persons responsible for the issues that are in its curatorship. But even in this case, it becomes clear that Aliyev's team is not ready to accelerate the crisis, which took a protracted character, and is not limited to the period of the first quarter.