A dream come true

An unpredictable situation: the political elections of June 23 in Albania took place with unexpected results, which restore prospects of governability in the country. The scrutiny ended the evening of June 26. It never happened in such a short amount of time. All political forces – except for nationalists – have accepted the outcomes of the polls. The centre-left coalition led by the socialist party Edi Rama gained a record-breaking majority of seats (84). Only 56 MPs were elected in the centre-right coalition led by the democratic party of Sali Berisha, which after having acknowledged the defeat, announced he would be out of the picture. What is the deeper meaning of the outcome of Albania’s elections? What should be expected for the future of the country? These questions, a few days before the vote, prompt the reflections of political analysts and of the social and cultural realms of the Country of eagles. Values as goals. "Albania – said Romeo Gurakuqi, professor of law at the European university of Tirana, member of the Albanian Academy of arts and science – approached the elections in a conflicting political climate, with an inappropriate electoral system, compared to the present "embryonic stage". But there’s still a long way to go, "especially – Gurakugi pointed out – considering that the past four years have been marked by growing limits to individual freedom", by the adoption of measures to control the opinions of cultural figures and intellectuals, coupled by "sky-rocketing inflation, patronage relationships between national authorities and social partners with dubious legal records". For this reason the recent elections highlighted the knots that the Albanian Bishops’ Conference reported in a recent document, which include the buying of votes, votes extracted under threat, manipulations, etc. All of these factors, the professor said, lead to a "piloted representativeness, which goes against the values of civilization and of the European spirit we hold dear".The need for reforms. Fulfilling the dream of a "clean" Europe, for Gurakuqi, is not impossible. It should be enough to "neutralize the gangrene passed down from one force in power to the next", thus carrying out a set of institutional reforms. First of all, "it’s necessary to create a regional balancing of the executive, of the administration, of justice and of the pillars underlying the foundation of the State. It’s necessary to rebuild the Republic, to eliminate the shadows of Ottoman conservatism, along with a reformulation of the Constitution". Albania also needs a reform in its political party system aimed at internal democracy, outlawing all those groups that promote violence". In fact, "an administrative reform of the Country is needed, with regional divisions of the period preceding dictatorship. This would change the current electoral system in a first-past-the-post voting system thus ensuring voting in a single round with the creation of two major political party groups with a pre-established leadership". Progressing towards the EU. Important steps and reforms are needed for the normalization of the Country and for its future from a European perspective, even though this requires "in-depth reflection". In fact, said, Nest Zefi, jurist, "apart from the hypocritical and instrumental use of the term "European integration" abused and used in the past twenty years by Albanian politicians for merely contingent or utilitarian purposes, only in the last period have Albanian people started to value the wisdom of reason, coupled by an authentic desire not to miss this historic opportunity to advance in their democratic ‘learning’ and in the rule of the law. For Zefi, "the real Europe and its ontological spirit are to be found within the very history of Albania. A depository of this heritage is notably to be found in the minority group that has been battered for five centuries by the Ottoman hordes, namely, Catholic Albanians, who deserve being acknowledged, so as to trigger the establishment of a righteous mindset, with a view to the future of the Country. But sadly enough, Catholic Albanians continue being marginalized despite their growing numbers, thus representing a significant presence in the Country. In fact, we witness the inertia of an excluding form of foreclosure, typical of the survivors of those regimes that were defeated in history, but that still have a strong voice". Perhaps this too is a situation that could abide to unexpected results.