The Strategy of Non-Intervention

Democratic Party MP Genc Strazimiri accuses the EU and OSCE of responding to Albania’s justice crisis with impotence — and says the opposition’s role is to watch the government collapse under its own weight.

The Newsroom (Tirana)

During an interview with Flavio Qarri on the morning show Kafe Shqeto on Syri TV, the DP MP also spoke about the reorganization process within the Democratic Party and the current political tensions in the country.

At the center of his criticism was the response of the European Union and the OSCE to the parliamentary vote against the justice system’s request to arrest a former deputy prime minister accused of corruption. According to the Democratic MP, the language used by the internationals was “totally impotent.” He contrasted this sharply with the concern they expressed over the throwing of two fireworks into the courtyard of former dictator Enver Hoxha’s villa — an event that, in his view, was treated with far greater dramatism.

He accused the government of turning theft with impunity, attacks on the justice system and journalists, and contempt for public opinion into “routine,” while the prime minister provides direct protection for the perpetrators.

Regarding internal processes within the Democratic Party, Strazimiri described them as a routine and cyclical process, recurring every four years for the renewal of mandates.

Asked whether the opposition’s protest during the parliamentary session was connected to the fireworks debate, Strazimiri categorically denied it, calling that session “the funeral of justice and of the government.” In his view, when “the enemy is killing itself,” one should not intervene to stop it.

In closing, the Democratic MP stated that early elections are the opposition’s aspiration and the only way out of the political crisis.

Flavio Qarri: Now, these leadership decisions in the DP regarding reorganization — meanwhile, on the other side, we see the government going through some rather difficult days, from Balluku in particular to European integration. But I also found very interesting Mr. Berisha’s comment about Gonzato — a very interesting moment to expose Gonzato as a collaborator of the prime minister, especially when the EU’s attention is so focused on Albania, including over the things that went wrong this week.

Gent Strazimiri: From the Democratic Party there is nothing new — it is a routine process of reorganization and renewal of the mandates of elected DP leadership, from the highest to the lowest level. So it is a routine, cyclical process, every four years. Equally routine, unfortunately, has become the fact that the government steals and goes unpunished — that the bigger the scandal, the harder the blow against the justice system, the attack on journalists, the contempt for public opinion, and the absence of accountability for the perpetrators. Direct protection comes from the prime minister himself. All of this together, I believe, carries a strong message even for Brussels’ representation in Albania. I say Brussels’ representation, not individual countries — because the embassies of individual EU member states, or indeed the United States, are representations of foreign services, of the foreign service of a foreign country, which are representatives of their own governments and whose duty is to protect the interests of their own country — which do not necessarily align with the interests of Albania and Albanians. The European Union and the OSCE are two Western representations that here represent standards, not interests.

And in terms of standards, neither of them should remain silent when all of these things are happening in Albania — first of all — and even worse, to react to the latest scandal in the Albanian parliament, when justice has caught and indicted someone, requests the arrest of a deputy prime minister, and is brutally told no by a political vote — while everyone is convinced the former deputy prime minister was caught red-handed stealing — and then the EU or the OSCE respond with totally impotent language. And moreover, compared to the concern aroused by two fireworks thrown into the courtyard of the former dictator’s villa, their reaction is incomparably less dramatic, I would say.

So I think this is the moment for this society — everyone in turn, from first to last among those I mentioned — to tell them: you can do as you please, but don’t think we are asleep.

Flavio Qarri: Was that comment about the fireworks at the dictator’s villa the reason why the protest during the Balluku mandate session looked the way it did?

Gent Strazimiri: No, not at all. I think that in its silence, that session was a funeral. It was a kind of funeral for justice and for the government. I am among those who are convinced that when the adversary is — when the enemy is killing itself, do not make a single move to stop it.

Flavio Qarri: Clear. Meanwhile, to return briefly to the Democratic Party — it seems you have been under heightened scrutiny, Mr. Strazimiri, from your opponents, from former Democratic Party colleagues. How do you view these comments about the structure, the statute, everything you are doing — which you consider routine?

Gent Strazimiri: Control — control is maintained in a party the way Edi Rama does it: twelve years without a vote. That is how control is maintained. If periodically, routinely, cyclically, on a set date, you call elections and hold them — the only ones in the Balkans, I would say — one member, one vote, for all leaders of the Democratic Party, I do not think this is the consolidation of power. On the contrary, it is the renewal of the mandate in the most democratic way possible.

Flavio Qarri: I understand. Meanwhile, to return briefly to procedures — it seems this spring will be very demanding for the Democratic Party’s structure. Are you preparing for something we don’t know about — a technical government, early elections, for instance?

Gent Strazimiri: Yes, unfortunately it is not in our hands to trigger them — neither in spring nor in summer. It is certainly our aspiration, it is the only way out…