FLASH
Shkruar nga Thoma Gëllçi
The party of "renewal" quickly turned into the party of "squirming." Or, more precisely, of "re-squirming," because squirming has long become its main form of political action. Every new development is treated not as an opportunity to build a political alternative, but as another chance to survive politically.
When the Secretary General of the Democratic Party, Flamur Noka, appeared before the media to comment on the protests against the Zvërnec project, many citizens expected to hear what is usually expected from an opposition: questions about the legality of the procedures, the lack of competition, the environmental impact of the project, or the lack of government transparency.
Ultimately, these are the reasons that have brought thousands of protesters to the streets of Tirana in recent days.
But Flamur Noka chose another path. Following Sali Berisha's political line, he declared that the protest organizers are "Soros mercenaries" and that their concern is not related to the Narta lagoon, nor to flamingos, nor to public assets. According to him, the real problem is Jared Kushner's investment and the latter's ties to the Trump family.
The statement was interesting not so much for what it said, but for what it left unsaid.
No word on how public properties are being given away. No comment on environmental experts who have raised serious concerns. No answers to the questions being asked by citizens, civil society organizations, and specialists in the field. Instead, the debate was immediately transferred from Zvërnec to Washington, from the Narta lagoon to the perennial conflict between Donald Trump and George Soros.
And it is precisely here that the real drama of Sali Berisha's Party begins to unfold.
Just a few days ago, it held what it called the "Renewal Congress." The name was ambitious and intended to create the impression of a political force entering a new phase. But it only took the first major civic protest for the facade to begin to crack.
The party of "renewal" quickly turned into the party of "squirming." Or, more precisely, of "re-squirming," because squirming has long become its main form of political action. Every new development is treated not as an opportunity to build a political alternative, but as another chance to survive politically.
In the Zvërnec protests, the differences between the government and the opposition became clearer than ever. The government defends the project because it is its project. This is normal. What is less normal is for the opposition to waste energy attacking the protesters instead of holding the government accountable.
To understand this behavior, one must look at the elephant in the middle of the room: the "non-women" problem.
The declaration of Sali Berisha as "non grata" by the United States for major corruption has affected the life of the Democratic Party much more than its leaders admit. In fact, for years it seems as if every political event, regardless of the topic, ends up being read through this filter.
Thus, a debate about Albanian laws is transformed into a debate about American politics. A protest about public assets is presented as part of the fight against Soros. A demand for transparency is interpreted as an attack on Trump.
In this absurd logic, the party's political program seems to have been reduced to George Soros's defense of Donald Trump. It is difficult to imagine a more bizarre transformation for a political force that claims to represent the interests of Albanian citizens.
At the headquarters of the US Congress, Albanian politics seems to have been declared a peripheral branch of American ideological battles. Albania disappears from the picture, while Washington becomes the center of the political universe.
Therefore, the debate constantly deviates from the real issues. Instead of discussing whether Albanian laws were respected, they discuss what Trump thinks. Instead of looking for project documents, they look for conspirators. Instead of analyzing procedures, they invent new enemies.
Edi Rama and Sali Berisha seem to have entered into a silent competition to prove to Donald Trump who is more loyal to him and his family.
One presents the investment as a historic success. The other attacks anyone who demands transparency about it. One talks about strategic development. The other about Soros mercenaries. But at the end of the day, both end up at the same point: defending the same project.
The problem is that this race is based on a short-term account.
Donald Trump is the President of the United States today, but not forever. In two years he will no longer be in the White House. This is not a matter of political convictions, but a constitutional limitation.
Meanwhile, Albania will continue to exist even after Trump, even after Rama, even after Berisha.
The lagoon will remain there. The public lands will remain there. The consequences of today's decisions will remain there for decades.
This is precisely why citizens demand transparency. And this is precisely why the opposition has an obligation to support this demand.
When an opposition gives up this role and starts looking for imaginary enemies instead of concrete responsibilities, it loses its reason for existence.
And when a party that has just announced its "renewal" reacts in this way to its first major civic protest, then it becomes clear that the problem is not the lack of a proper slogan. The problem is the lack of a political direction.
The events of Zvërnec have made this more apparent than ever.
They showed that behind the rhetoric of renewal, the same old struggle continues to hide.
Lini një Përgjigje