FLASH
Shkruar nga Thoma Gëllçi
Berisha is trying to identify with the protest. And the government is trying to identify the protest with Berisha. Because that way, the government will have a much easier time presenting it as an ordinary confrontation between Rama and Berisha, exactly the kind of confrontation that has dominated Albanian political life for decades.
The protest has two main enemies. One is the government. The battle with this is easier, because it is in front of it. The other is the one who tries to use it for his own political interests. In the case of this protest, this enemy of the protest is Sali Berisha's attempt to channel the revolt towards the objectives of his opposition. The second battle is more difficult, because this opponent enters the protest as a fifth column and tries to kill him behind his back.
It is clear to everyone that Berisha does not support the protest. In its beginnings, he openly opposed it. The reason was clear. At that time, his main political effort was to lift the “non grata” declaration in the United States. For this reason, he thought that it did not serve his purpose to come out against the projects of Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, the son-in-law and daughter of President Donald Trump.
He has nothing in common with the protest's concerns about corruption, public property, and the way strategic projects are being awarded, or the way political power is exercised in Albania. His goal is simply to replace Rama with him, without changing anything else, because even the oligarchs have them in common. Therefore, he chose to present himself as a defender of foreign investors, labeling the protest as a movement against them.
But subsequent developments changed the situation. The protest continued to expand, gained support and, for a moment, took Berisha out of the political spotlight. Then his position also changed. He began to declare his support for the protest, but without ever accepting its essence. His demand is only his political survival and that of Berishism, which is why he joins the demand for the resignation of Edi Rama and the creation of a technical government.
This very point, which seems to unite them, is also the point that divides the paths of protest from Berisha's political path.
What has brought tens of thousands of citizens to the square is not the desire to replace Edi Rama with Sali Berisha, or one perceived lesser evil with another perceived greater. The demand that has united the protesters is the construction of a New Albania: a state where the rules are the same for everyone, where competition is fair and transparent, where institutions are not controlled by parties, and where citizens are not forced to choose endlessly between the same politicians.
For this very reason, the slogan "Rama in prison, Berisha in prison" was repeatedly heard at the protest. This slogan is not against two individuals or about doing justice in the square. It expresses the rejection of a political model that has dominated Albania for more than thirty years.
Berisha is trying to identify with the protest. And the government is trying to identify the protest with Berisha. Because that way the government will have a much easier time presenting it as a normal confrontation between Rama and Berisha, exactly the kind of confrontation that has dominated Albanian political life for decades. In this effort, the government has an easier time winning.
The protest and the civic movement striving for a New Albania do not need Berisha. Albania has once tried the formula of the “Alliance of the Stinks”. What was presented as a solution to remove a corrupt government with the union of “every stinker”, resulted in the consolidation of a system that served the same political elites and paved the way for strong connections between politics, clientelistic interests and criminalized elements. There is no reason for the protest to become part of a similar formula.
So far, the protest has shown that it knows how to clearly distinguish itself from both Berisha's claims and the government's attempts to present Berisha as its side. It has refused to be drawn into Berisha's political court or become a prop for government propaganda. Berisha may try to ride in the protest without a ticket, while the government may pretend that he is its leader, but the protesters have made it clear that they are not asking for a change of driver in the same old car.
The strength of the protest lies precisely in the fact that it does not seek to bring the same people to power. It seeks to change the rules of the game themselves. Therefore, the protest does not need a new alliance between old political figures. It needs to remain faithful to the idea that has inspired thousands of citizens: the construction of a New Albania, where every citizen has the same opportunities to compete, where the state does not function with political privileges and where the law is applied equally to everyone.
Shumë.Bravo!
Lolo je karte e djegur, nuk te beson as xhaketa jote.
Ky me nofkën Tony ngjan si patronazhist...