By Alfred Peza
Have you noticed that amid all this turmoil, noise and cacophony filled with frenetic news of a campaign such as this one, where anyone speaks on behalf of everyone and very few hear out and fewer understand what is happening, there is one voice which rumbles with his rare Olympic silence?! It is the voice of Sali Berisha. The voice of the former Prime Minister and historical leader of the Democratic Party. The voice of the one person who was heard by everyone when he talked. Very few could have imagined that this day would come when everyone speaks and we don’t know if he listens to us. But, at least, he is not speaking and nobody is hearing him. This way, he’s speaking through his silence and making us crack the complex code of this rare phenomenon of Albanian post communist politics.
Truth be told, this sort of silence has been attempted to be used as a mechanism of communication before. As it was the case with the local government elections of 2011, when Lulzim Basha was racing for the municipality of Tirana against Edi Rama. More than silence, it was a temporary departure from the scene, an escape which was made obligatory by the circumstances, in order not to jeopardize what was being attempted to be sold as something new for the capital, through an alternative as old as pluralism. The second case when we saw this silence was during the three months of the tent. This was not total silence. Not a permanent silence. Silence in this case followed a scheduled program, because each Thursday, unable to speak endlessly as he had done in the past four years in Parliament, Sali Berisha had to speak out his messages and threats against Edi Rama and the majority from the “Freedom’s Tent”.
But that is it. Besides this, he may also have come out on the screen once or twice. Or on news bulletins when foreigners came to solve the “crisis” in Tirana. They were forced to stop at his office or speak to him on the phone. Or during intervals in between meetings with them, when Basha had to go and speak to him five times a day. To everyone who is part of the active politics, these many public appearances would be a lot. But, don’t forget. We’re talking about Sali Berisha, who has “raised” us all with his daily appearances on the media, news, newspapers, magazines, in the sounds of any frequency, online, social networks, portals, mobiles and everything that emits and receives news and information in this country. But now, silence is reigning.
Really, where is he?! Do you know? There was silence during the negotiations between Rama and Basha. There was silence during the drafting of the DP lists. There was silence when those who were left out of the lists initially shrieked. Silence when the most senior officials were left out of that parliament where for 20 years in a row shaped Albanian politics and Albanian right wing. He was silent when they came out and publicly spoke against the leader of DP. He was silent at the beginning, but he’s silent even now, at the peak of the election campaign for the June 25 elections. Silence. Silence. Silence. A silence which doesn’t seem to be bothering anybody. But such unordinary silence cannot be treated in such an ordinary way. Without an attempt to understand. To decode it. To clarify it. To shed light on it. To find the “secret” code that lies behind it.
The question which we are entitled to ask is: Are we dealing with a silence that approves all the known and unknown decisions, actions and lack of actions, secret or public alliances, declared or undeclared of Lulzim Basha? Or has this silence been dictated by the circumstances? Which implies a silence whereby Sali Berisha doesn’t approve any of what Lulzim Basha is doing “by himself”, but he’s unable to take any public stances, because this would mine and cause irreparable damages to the DP and the opposition campaign? Or is it a silence whereby he’s testing, dictating and managing from distance all the strings moved by him? Whatever it is, on the morning of June 26 and onward, he will finally be able to break this “Code of Silence”. He will be able to come out on public and have his say. Will his words be decisive for the political destiny of Lulzim Basha and that of his supporters and enemies within the Democratic Party? And above all, will they be decisive for the destiny of the DP and the right wing in Albania for the next four years and beyond that?
All of this remains to be seen and understood. But one thing is certain as of now. In spite of all illusions, Lulzim Basha doesn’t yet have absolute independence in his political decision making. For this, we just need to understand the criteria that were used to select the “technocrats” of the DP for Rama’s government, who will serve as “caretakers” of the opposition for the electoral process. The good news that could have generated the mystery of Sali Berisha’s silence would be that of the “mother eagle” to be giving the last chance to its political “bird”, to learn how to fly. By observing, following and helping him in distance, in order to prepare his team and to be ready, after this “rehearsal” to enter the true political race in his next mandate, in preparation of fulfilling his dream of governing Albania one day. Let us be a little more patient. There are only two and a half weeks remaining until the poll Sunday. They will go fast. Let us pray that it will be true even in this case.
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Note: The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Albanian Free Press’ editorial policy.
