By Andi Bushati/ The opposition must be freed from the boycott complex

2024-05-31 13:54:00, Opinione Andi Bushati

By Andi Bushati/ The opposition must be freed from the boycott complex

Analyst Andi Bushati

Throwing stones where possible at himself, for the radical acts he undertook during 2019, the opposition still trembles when the words boycott, withdrawal, non-participation are mentioned. The suffering from this syndrome is appearing even now when he has to discuss Edi Rama's invitation to participate in the absurd, "anti-corruption" commission. It has MPs and figures from those who know politics as the art of being liked by the embassies, who preach that it is better to be present, have their say and rush like a bull to the red cloth that the prime minister waved before the horns.

But who feels himself a real opponent of this regime, there is no reason to listen to the bells of these useful idiots of power. There is more than one reason why PD and its allies should say "NO" to Rama's farce that was remembered after 11 years, that corruption was wanted to be fought.

First, the opponents of the government are not interested in the legitimization of this commission, which begins its work on the eve of the elections and overlaps with other parliamentary commissions or independent institutions. By accepting it, the opponents, in fact, give the green light to the acceptance of the products for which its rise is required. If they claim that the goal is to affect justice reform and further control SPAK, they have no reason to become dirty, even through opposition, with these evil intentions.

Secondly, even from the formal side, this commission is being set up like a tailor-made suit for Edi Rama. He warned it with a long speech, deigned to step into parliament himself to support the resolution and did not even consult or dialogue with the opposition. Even a day before the establishment of the commission, its deputies did not know neither its purpose nor its object, which even now after voting with 74 votes still remains flu. So the elected representatives of over 600 thousand opponents of the renaissance are condemned not to transform their existence into a facade of power. They do not have the mandate to play the role of puppets of the autocrat.

Thirdly, and from the political point of view, it does not benefit the opposition to become part of the complicity on the eve of the elections . If the announced goal of the "anti-corruption" commission is to repair the effects of a 10-year-old predatory system, the opposition has no reason to take responsibility for it. Its task is to denounce the abuses of the opponent and not to help him to correct himself. The invitation: "we are stealing and you come and clean us", is absurd even to be pronounced and no longer accepted.

But, besides the above three reasons, there is another much more basic and important one. It has everything to do with numbers. Those who preach the participation of the opposition in this parliamentary committee argue their position with the fact that Edi Rama will affect the reform in justice, will remove articles of the criminal code that intimidate his officials, will increase the pressure on SPAK. Therefore - they say - we must be present to resist and denounce. But, they forget one thing. The strength to hinder the prime minister in these hypothetical diabolical goals does not depend on the presence in the commission, but on the ability to tighten the ranks to prevent him from voting in the parliament laws or constitutional changes that the qualified majority requires. So, whatever the parliamentary commission decides, where Rilindja has the majority and produces the proposals it wants, if the opposition retains more than 1/3 or 2/5 of the deputies (according to the type of change that is proposed), it nullifies any initiative of the majority. On the contrary, if she fails to guarantee the compactness of her deputies, participation in the commission is pointless as Rama will vote, in the end, whatever he wants.

So, the presence in the "anti-corruption" commission is an unnecessary parade. The opposition is doomed to boycott it. Without even having a point of complexity from this word. Without even listening to those who play the ambassadors' flute, that PD has been damaged more than anything by the boycott.

All those who defend this thesis must be asked a question. Well, from the consensual path and from the agreements with Rama, has the DP gained anything? Did she come out with her head held high when she left the tent to listen to the advice of the American emissary Brian Hoyt Yee? Did he get guarantees when he entered the government with Rama after the May 2017 agreement, supposedly to guarantee the elections that were closed before they started?

But four years later, what good happened to him, when he decided to leave the boycott to enter the "political table". From what he was protected by the agreement with the US and EU guarantor of June 5. Didn't Rama overturn everything, without asking about the referees and still doing what he wanted?

So, not only the radical path, but also that of the moderates who preach compromise, do not provide guarantees in the face of anti-democratic regimes that have both the stone and the nut in their hands. In such difficult conditions, the opposition has only one thing left in its hands: to preserve the principle and respect the mandate delegated to it by that part of the Albanians who are opponents of Edi Rama. They are against the games of serving as a facade, or participating in the farces he organizes. For any oppositionist, the fear of betraying this call must be much greater than the complex from the boycott.