By Plator Nesturi
Ilir Meta was elected the tenth president in the 100 year history of the Albanian state. This choice was not made with lots of enthusiasm by politics and this is also admitted by the new head of the state, when he says that it was more of a cool-headed decision rather than it was out of desire. Nevertheless, in spite of the predictions made several weeks ago that the ceremony of the inauguration of the president could have caused some “technical” incidents, everything went well. At least in the aspect of the protocol. The handshakes were there, but they were fake and so were the muffled congratulations. And Meta was clear on this.
Despite Meta’s weight in active politics in the past 20 years, his presidency faces several challenges. Meta will have fewer powers as a president than his predecessor and even fewer than the presidents of the ‘90s. The constitutional amendments that took place last year, which Meta and SMI voted too, have reduced the weight of the president, especially in the judiciary system, given that he no longer has powers as head of the Supreme Council of Justice. The reduction of the number of powers with the new Constitution, gives the president an honorific role, without any direct impact in matters that relate to the government and other state institutions.
It’s a little difficult for one of the most prominent political figures to play an honorific role. However, we must wait and see. And this, because of another detail which makes the cohabitation of the new president with the majority very specific. Each president who was elected in these 27 years, has, at least, had good relations with the majority that voted him at the start of his term in office. The clashes with the head of the government have arrived later, as it was the case when majorities have changed during Moisiu’s and Nishani’s term in office, but also when stances within the same majority have become antagonistic, as it was the case with president Topi in office.
In this case, Meta is clear that relations between the head of the government and the president will be fragile, despite the fact that this majority voted him in this post. SMI’s moving to opposition and the election campaign which was filled with accusations and punches below the belt, have left scars in the relations between Rama and Meta and they can hardly be concealed under the ceremonial cloak of the new presidency. Politics in itself is a constant attempt to amass power and both Rama and Meta are aware of this. And in this attempt which continues, it cannot be limited due to a simple matter of powers. It’s true that under the Constitution, Meta has fewer strings in his hands than Nishani does. However, the president is also made by the stature of the head of the state and in this aspect, it’s clear that it’s a matter of playing the mechanisms that he has in his hands in the right way. The new president no longer has the same access in the institutions of justice, but he’s still entitled to appoint the head of the Intelligent Services, State Audit, to decree the government members and the ambassadors abroad. At least with the first two institutions, the president has sufficient access in information, in sensitive issues which relate to law and order, crime and traffic and also matters that involve corruption in the administration. And information in the hands of an active person could have more value than they had in the case of president Nishani, for instance. Although the president doesn’t intervene directly, he could convene the National Security Committee on sensitive matters, in order to give clear tasks. In his speech, the president mentioned the media and civil society, two powers which up until today have been misused, however, they can be problematic for any government in case they are mobilized in a coordinated way.
Any prediction would be inaccurate beyond what we just mentioned. In all likelihood, the president and the government will clash, but everything can happen in politics. What remains a dilemma is another fact. Will the Socialist Movement for Integration distance itself even more from the Socialist Party during Meta’s term in office? Or will there be fresh interests in four years when the elections take place? Let us wait and see.
Note: The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Albanian Free Press’ editorial policy
