Statements on corruption/ Former Deputy Prime Minister: Marta Kos did not speak about a specific people, but about a phenomenon

2026-03-26 20:45:00, Aktualitet CNA

Statements on corruption/ Former Deputy Prime Minister: Marta Kos did not speak

Former Deputy Prime Minister, Ermelinda Meksi, has commented on the statements of EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, on corruption.

In her reaction on social media, Meksi states that Kos's statement was not an attack on Albanians, because according to her, she did not speak about a specific people but about a phenomenon.

Regarding the political stance towards this phenomenon, Meksi writes that the opposition condemns corruption only when it is committed by the opponent, while the government tries to relativize it. She emphasizes that without a common standard towards corruption, any debate remains shallow.

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Marta Kos's statement on corruption was not an attack on Albanians, but a well-known thesis in corruption studies that laws are not enough if social norms tolerate violation.

She did not speak about a specific people, but about a phenomenon. And this is precisely why this statement "hurts", because it shifts the focus from "those above" to "us as a society". Meanwhile, Prime Minister Edi Rama's reaction today on MatchMaker Albania, attempts to relativize the problem.

If we say to others: "look at yourself," this avoids the essence of the phenomenon, because even if others have corruption, this does not undo ours.

Meanwhile, political fandom makes things even worse, when corruption is only punished when it belongs to the opponent.

So, regarding the attitude towards the phenomenon of corruption, it is observed that: the government tends to relativize it, the opposition uses it, while the public generally aligns itself according to beliefs, not principles.

Without honest reflection and a common standard for dealing with corruption, any debate remains shallow. And this is not just a moral issue, but one with concrete consequences.

This hinders the building of functional institutions and damages the path towards European integration, precisely at a moment when the enlargement process requires more credibility, not more justifications. /CNA