“Situation in the Democratic Party? We’re facing a great danger called Rama”

Mr. Tabaku, what is your projection on the country’s economy during 2018?

The economic situation of the Albanian people is closely linked with the political situation in the country, not only as a result of the economic and tax policies implemented by Rama 1 and Rama 2 governments, but also as a result of the alarming situation of national security. Today we’re in a situation where taxes have increased by 2 billion US dollars. Meanwhile, the government is making sure it offers tax reliefs to businesses favoring it, making life very hard for the rest of society.

The latest example is the introduction of Value Added Tax for small businesses. The miserable situation of the country and the problem with drugs is causing a great amount of damage to our society. Foreign businesses are blacklisting a country where drugs were the biggest investment for the government. As a result, it’s impossible to expect the arrival of serious companies in the country to increase production or offer their services in our country. Therefore, the country has turned into a drug haven and all the government is doing is lie and not do something to enable economic growth. Let me remind you that the number of businesses that closed in 2017 was 13 thousand and Albania does not have this luxury.

Focusing on the latest political situation in the country, can you tell us what the opposition is aiming to achieve through its protest on 27 January? How will it differ from previous protests?

We live in a country where almost 80% of the country’s territory has been controlled by drug traffickers and cultivated with cannabis. The economic situation of the Albanian people has worsened, taxes are higher, investments are lower, and the government’s abuses are bigger. The Prosecutor General was elected in violation of the Constitution, while every possible way is being used to block the creation of SPAK. The law on Higher Education is generating many problems. Poverty has increased. Yesterday has been forgotten, while the cult of the individual is more and more present with this prime minister. In Tirana, people are seeing fewer and fewer parks and more and more concrete and skyscrapers. These are some of the problems that I can identify and which should lead many people to protest on 27 January.

As far as the current situation within the Democratic Party is concerned, how can you describe it following the recent debates within the party?

I think that all the members of the Democratic Party share a common concern: Edi Rama and the connections of the state with drugs. It’s normal to have debates within a family, but in front of a bigger threat, everything takes a different form.