FLASH
Shkruar nga Roland Lami
The two leaders need to shift attention away from the opponent. Berisha, from the balance of serial losses and the lack of an alternative. PS, from the internal turmoil coming from law enforcement institutions.
In Albanian politics, crises do not happen by themselves; they are carefully produced, often with tacit cooperation between political actors who publicly swear that they are enemies. The most recent case is Berisha's clash with EU ambassador Gonzado. At first glance, an emotional outburst towards the ambassador, a "patriotic pro-family" reaction a la Trumpist, but in essence, a cold electoral calculation.
Berisha knows well that the local elections approaching on November 9 do not promise victory, let alone a spectacular defeat similar to those of 2025. In these circumstances, the formula is old but sure: create a crisis, declare the enemy outside local and international, tighten the ranks of fanatics inside and radicalize the actions. The attack on an international figure, moreover the EU ambassador, gives him the opportunity to mix Trump-like conservatism to accumulate votes and supporters on the eve of local elections, the personal anger accumulated in recent years against internationals and the radical rhetoric "in an attempt to radicalize the ongoing actions of the DP. An external enemy is needed to avoid implying that the enemy is within the DP itself.
On the other hand, the Socialist Party, Rama in particular, is carefully fanning the flames. With the Assembly regulation that he himself changed in 2023 without consensus with the opposition, the SP is preparing to punish Berisha with exclusion for 15 days to two months referring to the regulation... An action that is sold as an institutional punishment, but in fact comes as a sign of servility towards the internationals and why not, as an opportunity to provoke the opposition by punishing its leader with an exaggerated measure. Since he knows from experience that the more Berisha radicalizes, the more Rama can talk about "opposition extremism" and avoid the turmoil he has inside with Veliaj in the judicial process, Balluku and Mazniku in the investigation process at SPAK.
Essentially, both leaders need to shift attention outward to the opponent. Berisha, from the balance of serial losses and the lack of an alternative. PS, from the internal turmoil coming from law enforcement institutions.
The protests that are expected to begin after November 9 are more of a political prelude than a civic reaction. They are a way to change the topic of debate from the electoral losses to the “national resistance” of the DP, while the SP, with an opposition that is itself out of the game, can continue to play the role of a “stabilizing” factor in front of the international community and appear as the “reasonable party” while being massacred by law enforcement institutions in terms of irresponsibility and corruption in governance.
In this scene, the crisis is no longer a consequence of Albanian politics, it is its most successful product. And like any good product, it has regular consumers, a public that has long forgotten the luxury of normality, and two leaders who help each other, but for different political reasons.
Nuk kanë PS(Edi Rama) dhe PD(Sali Berisha) "arsye të ndryshme politike" . Kanë një arsye. Të ruajhnë statukuonë e kënetës 34 vjeçare për t'ju shmangur llogaridhënies. Të ruajnë statukuonë e 2008 ku të dy liderët me marrëveshje okulte, kanë uzurpuar skenën politike, duke imponuar dhe ofruar vetëm parti dhe deputet, të dala nga 'mitra' e tyre.