The scandalous Sokol Balla at the head of ART?

24 Maj 2021, 12:12, English CNA

The 6-year mandate of the acting director of the Albanian Radio and Television, Thoma Gëllçi, ended 2 weeks ago. Gëllçi left his office 3 days ago, after running this institution for 6 years, the largest public television in the country, where he headed some reforms, mainly in digital broadcasting. However, there were more reforms of image and infrastructure than a real structural and essential reform for this television.

Anyway, Gëllçi?s mandate ended. Now is the time to find his successor. Although it has extended its hand of cooperation to the opposition, the socialist majority is rushing to put under its control every leading position in public institutions.

In this case, the scheme is expected to work differently. After the dismissal of Thoma Gëllçi, it is expected that the Board of Directors of the Albanian Radio Television will decide to open the competition for the new director of ART, where one of the main names rumored in the media is the scandalous Sokol Balla.

Sokol Balla is a name not unknown to the public, the former director of Top Channel, executive in other media such as Vizion Plus, and that he currently has his show on News 24. After failing to find a new project, ie leaving Irfan Hysenbelliu and moving to a new project, Balla is trying to take over the management of ART.

Maybe Thoma Gëllçi was not the best for the management of the Albanian Radio Television, but time showed that he was not even worse. There are worse than Thoma Gëllçi, and this could be Sokol Balla. The man involved a few years ago in a public scandal, which he justified with a ?betrayal? and robbery of personal data, seeks to take over the management of ART.

But this is not his problem. The problem is that he is a political man, a militant of Edi Rama, he is a man who has clashed strongly with numerous political personalities. So he cannot take the direction of ART, a conflicting and abusive person, that can cause scandals to this institution.

It remains to be seen whether Sokol Balla will really be elected head of ART, as often the first names circulating are those who are disqualified from the beginning, but the opposite also happens. The race is now in the hands of the board, but it is understood that the latter expects to receive political orders from above.

Once the competition is announced, the candidates will apply, and it will be this board that will decide. But its members are all representatives of the Socialist Party, some names ostensibly formally representatives of the opposition. But in fact they are also puppets and levers of Edi Rama, Endri Fuga or Taulant Balla.

What is expected to happen with ART is the fact that the institution cannot remain without

a chairman. For a while, ART is expected to be managed by Martin Leka in the position of deputy director, who is probably the longest-serving deputy director in the history of Albania.

Will the scandalous Sokol Balla be able to take over the management of ART? This is a question that remains unanswered, as the one who gives the approval is called Edi Rama, through his tools and political instruments that move in institutions and structures who choose them. However, the first to show preference for this post is Sokol Balla./CNA.al