Skip to main content

Albania’s Opposition Faces Huge Challenge as Berisha Bids to Reunite the Democratic Party


Sali Berisha may well reunite the struggling Democratic Party after Lulzim Basha’s chaotic leadership – but the way back to power will be rocky.   

By Altin Gjeta

A few days ago, the centre-right, often self-proclaimed conservative-leaning, Democratic Party recalled, in a deeply divided mood, the 30th anniversary of its first landslide victory in March 1992, which terminated the country’s brutal one-party communist dictatorship.

The party had been established by an anti-communist students’ movement, intellectuals and other socially mixed forces to counter the communist Labour Party’s unbearable, iron-fisted rule, and lift Albania out of its extreme political, economic and social backwardness.

Over the following three decades, the Democratic Party governed Albania for 13 years, led by the well-known cardiologist Sali Berisha, first as president of Albania, from 1992 to 1997, then for another two terms, as prime minister, from 2005 till 2013.

That year, the party lost the legislative elections, and Berisha stood down as party leader, opening the way for his protégé, Lulzim Basha.

Basha’s takeover was expected to usher in a fresh start and a new era for the party after Berisha’s strong but much-criticised leadership.

But, contrary to expectations, under the claim of so-called “reforms”, Basha used the historic leader’s backing as leverage to expel high-profile politicians from the party and tighten his grip on the steering wheel. His leadership was too clumsy to genuinely reform the party, build a new model of policy making, or bring the party back to power.

Despite presiding over consecutive electoral defeats, the most recent in April’s parliamentary elections, Basha clung on to the chairmanship of the party and made promises about its swift return to power.

US move divides party into two camps

Had the US not designated former party leader Berisha “persona non grata”, the party would have silently perished, isolated and abandoned by its electorate and by the wider public due to its underperformance.

The former prime minister’s designation sent shock waves through the party and to everybody’s surprise, under the requirement of the US ambassador in Tirana, Basha suspended Berisha from the parliamentary group.

This came as blow to Berisha and to most party members who were by now exhausted, seeing themselves still in opposition after eight years. This in turn abruptly ended the cosy relationship between Berisha and Basha and split the party into two antagonising camps.

Berisha gathered grassroots support and, at his own convention, dismissed Basha as party leader, changed the statute of the Democratic Party and launched the initiative to reorganise the party from top to toe.

But Basha did not recognise these decisions and stubbornly stayed in office until another debacle, in the March 6 by-elections, which forced him to quit after an overwhelming majority of his MPs pressured him to take a step back. 

Reuniting the party is not the biggest challenge

While the crisis was brewing, both sides engaged in vilifying rhetoric that inflicted more tension and opened a deep fracture in the party, cutting it from top to bottom.

But Basha’s resignation, and a court ruling, on the lawfulness of Berisha’s December 11 “National Convention”, removed a stumbling block preventing re-unification of the party.

Berisha has proved to be still the most influential figure among party members and the whole opposition, and most of Basha’s faction will now likely merge with this flock and the party will reunite under the former prime minister’s leadership.

However, unity within the party is not the biggest challenge the DP faces in the upcoming months. This is because Berisha is both the strongest and the weakest point of his party.

He has shown that he calls the shots and is the centre of gravitation within the party, but recent elections’ result indicate that the party still faces a steep climb, in trying to beat incumbent Prime Minister Rama’s Socialist Party.

This is due to a combination of historic and contemporary reasons.

The Socialist Party, successor to the old communist Labour Party, is the oldest ruling political faction in Albania and has the largest base of any party in the country.

As Albanian voters tend to be partisan and electoral campaigns power-driven, this leaves the Socialists with a clear advantage over the centre-right of the political spectrum. 

In addition, 30 years after the fall of the communist regime, there is great disillusion with party politics, in which Berisha has been a key player.

To make the matter worse for the opposition, Albania has demographically shrunk in recent years. The turnout in elections has also steadily declined, and it is remains to be seen how the Democratic Party under Berisha can reach and galvanise these disenchanted voters.

Berisha has shown in the past that he is capable of reinventing himself and the party, but as things stand, time is running against him.

He has been in politics for decades that have consumed a lot of his vigour. Apart from that, he has been a staunch supporter of the US in the region throughout his political career, but his designation as “persona non grata” by the State Department last year pits him against the US administration.

His return to the helm of the party is expected to strain the party’s relationship with the current Biden administration. In a statement last year, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Gabriel Escobar warned of consequences if Berisha was re- elected leader of the Democratic Party.

But, since then the tables have turned. The outcome of the March 6 by-elections that saw Berisha massively outperform Basha, and emerge as the only political opponent to face Prime Minister Rama. This may bring about a recalibration of the US approach to both the Democratic Party and Berisha.

 

Altin Gjeta holds a Master of Arts in International Relations and Politics from the University of Westminster, London. He works as an independent researcher and consultant in politics for different think tanks and international organisations in Tirana.

The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of BIRN.

https://balkaninsight.com/2022/03/29/albanias-opposition-faces-huge-challenge-as-berisha-bids-to-reunite-the-democratic-party/


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Udhëtim në tri kohë

  Iu bashkova gjimnazit “Leonik Tomeo” diku në shtator të vitit 2004 pas një tentative të pasuksesshme për tu regjistruar në teknikumin ekonomik të Tiranës. Shkak për këtë aventurë të pasuksesshme dhe të dhimbshme u bë im atë. Ai ngulmoi se duhet të studioja ekonomi, pasi kjo sipas tij do të ishte njëlloj garancie për punësim në jetë.  Por unë nuk isha mirë me numrat. Vija nga një shkollë rurale ku mbizotëronte rrëmuja dhe preokupimi kryesor i mësuesve ishte disiplina në ambientet e shkollës. Megjithëse atëherë nuk pata asnjëlloj dëshire për të studiuar ekonomi, më vonë pas adoleshencës zhvillova një pasion të heshtur për politikën ekonomike, duke u bërë një lexues i dhënë pas Fridrik Hajek, ekonomistit liberal të shkollës së Vjenës. Gjithsesi, regjistrimi në shkollën e mesme  “Leonik Tomeo” ishte njëfar fillimi i ri. Vjeshta qe e ngrohtë atë vit, teksa rreshtoheshim për tu futur në klasë, dielli lëshonte rreze verbuese, por pasiguria për të ardhmen sikur ma ftohte tr...

Nevoja për të Djathtën: Disa Ide Qëndrore

  I. Modeli ekonomik (zgjerimi i lirisë) E djathta e qendrës është udhëhequr që nga koha e iluminizmit, e mandej në shekullin e XX (ekonomistët e shkollës së Vjenës Von Mises, Hajek, dhe Erhard më vonë), (përfshi Theçer dhe Regan në sferën politike) nga ideali i zgjerimit të lirisë individuale. Në këtë kuptim, qendra e djathtë është natyrshëm mosbesuese ndaj rolit të shtetit apo autoritetit nga lart në jetën ekonomike, politike apo sociale të vendit. Ajo beson se individi është më mirë i përgatitur për t’i shpenzuar paratë në interes të mirëqënies së tij dhe familjes. Kështu, e djathta takson më pak për të lënë më shumë para në xhepat e qytetarëve. Për të djathtën, jeta ekonmike, politike dhe sociale është shumë komplekse për tu organizuar në mënyrë të planifikuar nga një trupë politike apo epistemike. Dija sipas ekonomistit austriak Friedrich Hayek është e shpërndarë në hapësirë dhe kohë, dhe nuk është as shumatore e dijes shkencore. Njerëzit kanë agjensi veprimi autonome, pra...

Nevoja për Qendrën e Djathtë në Shqipëri

  Më shumë së tre dekada pas rënies së regjimit komunist, Shqipëria i ngjan një avioni i cili më në fund ka dalë në pistë pas izolimit gjysëm shekullor në burgun e tmerrshëm të Enver Hoxhës, por nuk po arrin të bëjë shkëputjen e shumëpritur për tu ngjitur në qiell. Kjo do të përbënte një hap domethënës për vendin, duke e nxjerrë nga faza e një shteti pa orientim strategjik, dhe transformuar në një shtet të zhvilluar, antar të Bashkimit Europian dhe të gatshëm për të përballuar sfidat aktuale dhe dekadave të ardhshme. Rreziku i ngecjes në pistë, dhe më keq akoma, parkimi i mundshëm i Shqipërisë në rradhën e vendeve autoritare, ku ka gjysëm liri ose pak liri është bërë edhe më akut në një kohë kur partia në pushtet ka krijuar një hegjemoni politike dhe ekonomike afatgjatë. Pavarësisht progresit të institucioneve të drejtësisë në luftën kundër korrupsionit në nivele të larta të qeverisjes dhe politikës, drejtësia nuk është alternativë politike, por një mekanizëm kontrolli ndaj ...