By Roland Qafoku
As it was expected, Lulzim Basha was elected leader of the Democratic Party for a four year term in office, but in contrast to four years ago when the rising star of Albanian politics inspired hope that he would be the right person who would help the DP to recover after the defeat and the departure of Sali Berisha, this victory was not a sweet one for those who voted him and for Basha either. Although he obtained 53.931 votes or 91.3%, while his rival only obtained 5136 votes or 8.7%, this victory is a bitter one for many reasons.
First, his election for the second time as party chairman comes after a big defeat of the Democratic Party in the June 25 elections, which led this party to its lowest point in the past 27 years. So, to lose the parliamentary elections with 200 thousand votes less than the weakest result of the DP in 9 parliamentary elections held after the overthrow of communism and to win with 91.3% of the votes against Eduard Selami, not only has no value whatsoever, but Basha must feel ashamed and humble in front of the party members for voting him for the first and second time.
Secondly, 59 thousand and 766 members voted in these elections out of a total number of 103 thousand members that the Democratic Party has. This figure has an important significance because it shows that half of the members of the DP has abandoned Lulzim Basha and distanced themselves from him.
Thirdly, Lulzim Basha showed in the last four years that he could not manage to unite democrats as he publicly promised to do so. The party is more divided than ever. There are members who don’t want Basha, but don’t know how to remove him and there are young people who were very disappointed with his behavior toward them. This is why Basha has a major task in front of him: that of uniting and restoring trust on the Democratic Party. Old members and new members, collaborators or opponents must be united and in order for Basha to achieve this, he must make an honest attempt, by being clear and open with everyone.
Fourthly, for the first time, these elections produced a movement on the way they were being held and the representatives of this movement are not ordinary figures, but people with historical contributions at the Democratic Party. Of course, Basha is entitled to say that some of them “have lost their way”, mentioning the millions that they have unjustly earned. But he cannot say this on Besnik Mustafaj, Jozefina Topalli and Astrit Patozi, who besides the love for the DP, they have no other interests in it. What did Basha do and what will he do with them? Will he remove them from the DP? This is where his ability and vision as a leader will be manifested. If Basha doesn’t unite them, he will encounter many problems.
Fifthly, Lulzim Basha is expected to be in front of a government which has 74 seats and which will be in office untroubled for four years, the same time that Basha will be the head of DP. Unseen in such position before, Lulzim Basha must have a clear strategy of opposition and he must not act like he did in the past four years, when he organized only 7 street protests and hundreds of statements from the party’s headquarter, where it was not important what the declarations contained, but who was the “star” that read this or that declaration.
Sixthly, for the first time, Basha will now be in Parliament as the party leader. Up until now, he has carried out this job from the party’s headquarters. From the great love of May 18 with Edi Rama, Basha must now clash face to face with him in Parliament, by showing dignity, character, but also eloquence in his way of thinking, something which he has often lacked.
Seventhly, the 2019 local government elections are expected to be the next political battle for Lulzim Basha. These elections are expected to be the biggest political test which will show if he will bring optimism, trust and a tendency to win or to lose the 2021 elections. Another 500 days separate him from these elections and during this period, Basha needs to pass his biggest test ever. Maybe, his last test.
Eighthly, Lulzim Basha must pass the big test of keeping his word, a quality which he has not cultivated that much up until today in politics. In a meeting with intellectuals that Basha had several months ago in hotel Plazza, psychologist Denada Toçe told him: Please, Mr. Basha, do not promise 10 things and deliver 1. Please, promise only one and deliver one. So, Lulzim Basha must make a big effort to change this quality, which not only inspires trust, but also creates the image of another person who will lead the Democratic Party for another four years.
Ninthly, these four years of Basha’s opposition were associated with a dilemma against SMI. With the June 25 election campaign focused on attacking this political force more than the SP, Basha divided rather than joined the opposition. Under this situation, when the DP and SMI are in opposition, but not in an alliance, Basha’s job is to join forces against the government and not cause divides, because this is not the only way to come to power.
Tenthly, Lulzim Basha has also lost his battle with the media. This was also seen in the last press conference that he delivered after his victory as chairman. With the presence of journalists, but whom he didn’t allow to address any questions, Basha showed once again his complexity against the media and journalists and he has constantly shown this in the past four years. Not at all open and chaotic, Basha has even been selective toward TV networks, newspapers and journalists, up to a point that he has even said if he likes the question that they address him or not. Is it normal for someone who aspires to be Prime Minister to fear questions?
Note: The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Albanian Free Press’ editorial policy
