By Plator Nesturi
With 74 obtained seats in Parliament, SP and Prime Minister Edi Rama have managed to secure the necessary numbers to govern on their own. This was made clear by the head of the majority in a meeting held yesterday, when he said that his coalition will only be with the citizens. The “steering wheel” belongs to him and nobody else will be a passenger in this “bus”. This clarifies all possible assumptions about a possible coalition stemming from the agreement made between Rama and Basha. The Prime Minister didn’t even mention the pre-election act which enabled the participation of the opposition in the June 25 polls and this is in his right. The mandates that he has make it unnecessary to have a broad government. What the other political players will do, this is their business. The majority has been decided and nobody will be able to get on the Socialist Party’s “bus”.
Now, the ball is in the court of the opponents and they will be the ones who will need to make changes in their policies after June 25.
For the first time, Basha admitted that the agreement led to his failure. While he continues his campaign with the members of the Democratic Party in the race for the party leader, Basha said that the agreement could not stop the machinery that bought votes. What’s more, the leader of the DP said that the government that will come out of these elections is not legitimate and that this government will be the outcome of a deformed result. Are these declarations being made as part of the election campaign for the leader of the DP or will this be a new course of the right wing opposition? It’s hard to judge at the time being. This could be a simple declaration which would suit those democrats who are disorientated from the election result. A bewildering declaration. But if this will be the new political stance of the DP for this parliamentary session, then it’s a different matter. The agreement that was signed between Rama and Basha seems no longer valid. It doesn’t seem to have served as a guarantee for the credibility of the elections. Meanwhile, by considering this majority as illegitimate due to a deformed result, then this means that the agreement cannot be implemented any further as far as the cooperation in the judicial reform, the new electoral reform and other legislative reforms are concerned. Moving on with this logic, there will not even be a joint stance of the majority and opposition in the request and the possibility for the start of EU access talks.
Whether this declaration is being made for electoral purposes or whether it will be a new reality in opposition making, we don’t know this. What we know is that the DP has not yet filed any official requests to the Central Election Commission or other institution, which would question the result of this so called illegitimate majority which has bought votes.
Meanwhile, we have another situation in the SMI’s camp. The new leader of the party, Kryemadhi, was very direct in the caucus meeting when she launched accusations against her former ally. By considering this a big evil for the country and democracy, Kryemadhi talked about the creation of a large Opposition Front, where everyone, regardless of their ideologies, could be included. In this case, it was a direct invitation to the DP and Basha, which have often been inconsistent in their stances, sometimes attacking Rama and sometimes attacking SMI. However, SMI is clear about the fact that it will be in opposition and is getting ready for this. Preparations are being made for a tough battle, where there could be political victims. If two parties have been in the same coalition with each other, but they’ve always been skeptic of one another, then one of them knows where to attack, but it should also be prepared of possible counter strikes.
So far, while the socialist majority is clear and aware of the fact that with the majority that it has, it can govern on its own, the opposition seems disorientated, in terms of the result that was obtained and the new equilibriums that will be in place.
How will the opposition in the new parliament be? Based on what we see up until now, it’s clear that SMI will be in opposition, while the DP seems to making opposition rather than being in opposition. Let us wait until September. Will there be an implementation of the agreement on the horizon, will there be a clear division between majority and opposition or will everyone fight everyone?
Note: The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Albanian Free Press’ editorial policy
