FLASH
Shkruar nga Thoma Gëllçi
The law clearly prohibits the Ombudsman from being politically biased and considers active affiliation with parties incompatible. The question is not formal, but essential: is a last-minute administrative act sufficient to fulfill the spirit of the law?
Let's admit, for the sake of public debate, that Edi Rama defeated Sali Berisha in the election of People's Advocate, passing Endri Shabanin to the Assembly as the consensual candidate.
But even if this scenario is taken for granted, the essential question remains: why Endri Shabani in particular? What makes him the right figure for an institution that, according to the law and the spirit of the Constitution, should be the embodiment of impartiality, distance from politics, and protection of the citizen in the face of power?
Endri Shabani is not a figure from civil society in the classical sense of the word. He is the leader of an opposition party, “Nisma Thurje”, which is built precisely on the rhetoric of overthrowing Edi Rama’s government. In dozens of public appearances, Shabani has described Rama’s regime as corrupt, corrupt and dangerous to democracy.
He has stated that Rama's concentration of power and the large number of mandates constitute a threat to the rule of law. He has even gone further, saying that "Rama must leave as a phenomenon", while the opposition must offer a real governing alternative.
Shabani himself has claimed that this was his first time directly engaging in politics, but that he had previously been an activist, driven by disgust for the way politics was conducted in Albania. All of these positions are documented, public, and undeniable. And precisely for this reason, the absurdity arises: how does an opposition party leader, with such strong political positions, transform into an impartial institutional figure, simply because a week before the election he hands over the party card he leads?
The law clearly prohibits the Ombudsman from being politically biased and considers active affiliation with parties incompatible. The question is not formal, but essential: is a last-minute administrative act sufficient to fulfill the spirit of the law?
One of the opposition's proposals for this position, along with 35 signatures like Endri Shabani, was Aranita Brahaj, without any party affiliation and with direct contributions to transparency, accountability and protection of the public interest. Aranita Brahaj, with Open Data Albania, has built concrete mechanisms for monitoring the government since the 2000s, regardless of political affiliation. Such a profile would make the election of the Ombudsman uncontestable and would spare society this unnecessary debate.
So why did the Socialist Parliamentary Group, led by strategist Taulant Balla, unanimously vote for Endri Shaban? This cannot be explained by any electoral political benefit. The role of the “Nisma Thurje” in Albanian politics had long been almost zero and was further discredited by the grotesque practice of running uncles, aunts and relatives on the lists for the Assembly, a behavior that turned political moralism into a family caricature. The majority had nothing to gain politically from a party that no longer posed either a threat or a weight.
For this reason, the election of Endri Shabani does not seem like a strategy, an openness, or a false pluralism. It smells like pure backstage bargaining. A tacit agreement between Sali Berisha and Edi Rama, for reasons known only to them and that do not need to be publicly articulated. Such bargaining does not require ideology or principled justifications: it is simply executed.
While the Socialist Parliamentary Group has a much more modest and much more cynical role: to implement the decision and then produce a convincing narrative for its militants and voters. A beautifully packaged lie for the public, that this was the best, most professional, most impartial and most European choice. A story for internal consumption, which aims to cover up the simple truth: the People's Advocate was not elected to serve the citizen, but to serve an agreement that no one has any interest in saying out loud.
Lini një Përgjigje