On political parties in Albania

Talks between Democrats and Socialists in Albania to resume?

It quickly became evident that after the downfall of communism in Albania in 1990, the two new major political parties - Democratic and Socialist - would have problems working together to form a government serving the best interests of its citizens. Each party - Democratic or Socialist - worked very hard to make it clear that it had the only agenda to produce an effective government. No matter which party came into power, it was invariably attacked - and often heatedly - by an intransigent opposition party eager to thwart or otherwise disrupt any agenda of the ruling government by obstruction, personal attacks, and even boycott.

Regrettably, after 20 years of democracy in Albania, its political leaders have never learned, or wanted to learn, the art of give-and-take so prevalent in other democracies, that is, compromise, negotiation, persuasion, reasoned debate, pleading, or whatever else was needed to produce a productive dialogue that would create and advance a bi-partisan political agenda on behalf of Albanian citizenry.

It was - and, unfortunately, continues to be - the bitter, personal animosity and antagonism always in great evidence between the two leaders of each party that filters down through its membership as each leader demonizes the other - Nano vs. Berisha / Berisha vs. Nano, and, currently, Berisha vs. Rama.

So read below, BIRN's latest take on Albania's President Bamir Topi's most recent attempt to get the two political rivals simply talking - never mind, working - with each other...

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OSCE, US Back Albanian President Bamir Topi in Crisis Talks
Tirana | 11 February 2010 |

The OSCE and US have voiced their support for Albanian President Bamir Topi in his role as mediator in the talks between the opposition and government, which aim to solve the country's ongoing political crisis.

In a meeting with the president on Wednesday the OSCE head in Tirana, Robert Bosch, said that his organisation “would be ready to provide assistance to restart the parliamentary political life in Albania.”

Topi announced in a statement on Tuesday that he had called for talks to be held between Prime Minister Sali Berisha and opposition leader Edi Rama.

“The United States fully supports the efforts of President Topi and the Council of Europe to mediate the ongoing political impasse and we commend Topi’s leadership in overseeing the discussions between government and opposition,” the US embassy in Tirana said in a statement on Monday.

“We believe this process offers an important opportunity to resolve without further delay the current political stalemate and we call on all parties to avail themselves of this opportunity,” the statement added.

The messages of support aim to strengthen Topi’s position before the talks, which are being held to solve the political gridlock that has gripped the country since the end of the June parliamentary elections.

However, the two archrivals have continued to exchange jibes, accusing one another of being unwilling to compromise while holding firm in their entrenched positions on how to deal with the investigation of the June 28 parliamentary elections.

Led by Rama, the Socialist opposition has boycotted parliament since the new session began in September, claiming that the government’s alleged fraud was to blame for their electoral loss.

The Socialists have conditioned their return to parliament on a recount of the electoral ballots of the parliamentary poll.

Although declaring his openness to a parliamentary investigation of the election, Berisha has stubbornly rejected the possibility of a recount. He argues that the opposition has exhausted all legal options and that he cannot override the judicial process.

The boycott has poisoned the political climate in the country and brought to a halt the functioning of the assembly, which requires more than a simple majority to pass EU accession related reforms.



OSCE, US Back Albanian President in Crisis Talks
Tirana | 11 February 2010 |


Bamir TopiThe OSCE and US have voiced their support for Albanian President Bamir Topi in his role as mediator in the talks between the opposition and government, which aim to solve the country's ongoing political crisis.

In a meeting with the president on Wednesday the OSCE head in Tirana, Robert Bosch, said that his organisation “would be ready to provide assistance to restart the parliamentary political life in Albania.”

Topi announced in a statement on Tuesday that he had called for talks to be held between Prime Minister Sali Berisha and opposition leader Edi Rama.

“The United States fully supports the efforts of President Topi and the Council of Europe to mediate the ongoing political impasse and we commend Topi’s leadership in overseeing the discussions between government and opposition,” the US embassy in Tirana said in a statement on Monday.

“We believe this process offers an important opportunity to resolve without further delay the current political stalemate and we call on all parties to avail themselves of this opportunity,” the statement added.

The messages of support aim to strengthen Topi’s position before the talks, which are being held to solve the political gridlock that has gripped the country since the end of the June parliamentary elections.

However, the two archrivals have continued to exchange jibes, accusing one another of being unwilling to compromise while holding firm in their entrenched positions on how to deal with the investigation of the June 28 parliamentary elections.

Led by Rama, the Socialist opposition has boycotted parliament since the new session began in September, claiming that the government’s alleged fraud was to blame for their electoral loss.

The Socialists have conditioned their return to parliament on a recount of the electoral ballots of the parliamentary poll.

Although declaring his openness to a parliamentary investigation of the election, Berisha has stubbornly rejected the possibility of a recount. He argues that the opposition has exhausted all legal options and that he cannot override the judicial process.

The boycott has poisoned the political climate in the country and brought to a halt the functioning of the assembly, which requires more than a simple majority to pass EU accession related reforms.