FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
The Prime Minister is replacing the oligarchs who raised him with a new circle of businesses close to the family and the government, paving the way for the complete capture of the economy and the state...
For some time now, people close to Edi Rama's government, who are publicly known as his defenders, have been attacking those we call oligarchs in media parlance. Namely, the handful of wealthy people who hold most of the contracts and permits to use budget money or public state assets.
Gjergj Luca, otherwise known as Babloku's loloja, but also others, have brought to the public a highly critical discourse towards some of the important names of entrepreneurship in the country, who a short time ago not only did not touch them, but also praised them in their public declamations.
Meanwhile, the case of the strong blow to "Baca" Behgjet Pacolli does not seem accidental and is an integral part of a new political strategy, which will not be long in emerging with concrete steps decided from above.
This strategy has clear political causes and comes as a result of a new opportunity created, where it seems that the majority is no longer dependent on the necessity of operating the oligarchs as ready-made enterprises or as financial mechanisms. In the absence of direct operation from the insufficient budget, large entrepreneurs have been used who, through loans, have provided liquidity to the market and the economy in the country. But these operations have been a burden on the citizens, as the loans have increased the public debt of the government and the state.
Edi Rama, after the May 11 elections, in several meetings he held for what he called "Renaissance 2.0", spoke of "available funds" that are ready to flood into Albania, according to an investment plan that will be planned by the government.
No word on where these funds come from, what they represent, how much they are and who owns them. This statement has immediately caused a shock in the economic environment, worrying large entrepreneurs who, in this small market, are feeling the presence of new "sharks", while they are no longer indispensable to Edi Rama as they have been for thirteen years.
In reality, there is nothing new, because we are in a familiar scenario that in political language is called "Putinism", implemented not only by Vladimir Putin in Russia, but also by Erdogan in Turkey, or by other authoritarian leaders in Central Asian countries, in Belarus and Serbia, and even in a mild form in Viktor Orban's Hungary.
Putin, as soon as he took power, cracked down on the group of oligarchs who had worked with Boris Yeltsin and replaced almost the entire dominant class of big business operating in strategic sectors. This led to clashes with the West, as some of the oligarchs took refuge in Europe and financed opposition movements in Russia and Ukraine. But all of them were either imprisoned or killed, while the oligarch class was changed several times in several stages, until it was consolidated in the hands of a clan very close to Putin, familially and politically.
The same pattern was followed by Erdogan, who removed and destroyed all the oligarchs who brought him to power and made their fortunes through PPPs in infrastructure, healthcare and tourism. After labeling them as Gulenists, after 2016 he carried out a massive purge of the oligarch class operating in Turkey and abroad, replacing their universities, colleges and assets with businessmen close to him.
The same thing happened in Albania, where the Turkish companies that Erdogan supported and lobbied to enter the energy and financial system are today his enemies.
Edi Rama, using the same model, is removing the oligarchs who supported him and replacing them with new figures close to his family and political circle. This has started with the collapse of Erion Veliaj's political and economic group, which in three mandates created a circle of businesses that supported him financially and which are now being dismantled one by one.
If you look closely, the new operators who are taking the places of the "enemies" are directly connected to the prime minister's family and close associates.
Albania is entering the second phase of Putinism or Erdoganism, a phase that will soon be followed by the third; that of a major tightening of political and economic freedoms. This will happen especially if the West distances itself from Albania, as Edi Rama seems to want, in order to unhinderedly implement fiscal amnesty and introduce the large flow of underground money into the economy.
With this money he will buy everything and everyone, except those who do not accept, who, as always, are few./ Pamphlet
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