Broad-based governance or political maneuvering?

2025-05-26 22:01:00, Opinione Ardi Stefa

Prime Minister Edi Rama, in a celebratory meeting with the 83 MPs who emerged from the May 11 elections, as well as all the SP candidates for MPs, analyzed the victory. Beyond the expected ironies with opponents in the opposition, Rama also conveyed several messages, which can be read between the lines, but which he had actually started implementing long before.

What are the messages?

-Edi Rama has announced changes in the new government!

"We have guaranteed justice, strengthened security, increased our reputation and made history with our country within this decade. We have learned that to achieve these successes, it takes a lot of work on ourselves."

We need to start with ourselves to properly think about some things that need to be seen differently, and we need to do some things differently.

"We need to make some moves in the party leadership and in the government. We need a complete understanding between us and with our European family, because we will use the power of the fourth mandate."

-The SP should first use its fourth mandate for self-correction.

"The party is not a goal, but a means to fight for goals. Victory is not a goal either. But to achieve goals you have to win elections."

We don't need victories to defeat others. But to fulfill our historic mission to change Albania forever by developing the economy, guaranteeing justice, improving education and healthcare, strengthening security, increasing the international reputation of the homeland, and making history with EU membership within this decade.

We need to work on ourselves first. This time too, we will start with ourselves to properly share our thoughts on some things that need to be seen, understood, and done differently at the level of the party leadership, the parliamentary group, and, of course, the government.

We need complete understanding within ourselves to assure the Albanian people and the European family with words matched by deeds that we will use the fourth mandate as a great self-correcting force.

"We have climbed so high that no one believed it, and trying to reflect, I believe that above all this happened because we managed to get more out of ourselves after each victory."

-Old MPs back on the campaign trail, young people back in school.

The head of government asked the new deputies in the Assembly to return to their "studies" at the Socialist Party's Political Academy, while he called on the veterans who led the Socialists in the districts during the May 11 campaign to prepare for the local elections.

"Political leaders should start working on the upcoming local elections. This mandate we have just received is not a pedestal to look down on others."

Rama requested that "several large working meetings be organized with key interest groups and to talk about the challenges of the fourth mandate."

Interpretations?

If one carefully reads Rama's words, body language, and the messages conveyed, it is noticeable that the message of the victory speech was also in the logical continuation of the electoral campaign strategy.

The ironic language was devastating for the opposition and Berisha, but the main issue was EU integration.

How should the messages about self-correction and changes in the new party and government be read?

He tried to calm the MPs left outside the parliament, reminding them that they are an asset to the SP and will be valued in other positions. It seems that he also blocked the path to the dissatisfaction that could be expressed up and down about the closed lists and the anonymous people included in them. But also to prevent any voice of dissatisfaction within the party regarding the anonymous Elbasan with a flood of votes or Zegjinena from Fier with the memes about Gaz.

However, Rama has emerged from these elections as a powerful outlaw. 83 MPs and anyone who might join him later create the possibility for him to make constitutional changes very quickly. On the other hand, by having absolute control over the party, he shows the socialists that he is able to make decisions even without the party's approval.

And Rama conducted an experiment with Vlora. When he placed two "democrats" on the lists of deputies, who actually had no impact on the electorate and did not add any votes to the SP.

Just like when he brought several former leaders of the former FRPD to the SP with great fanfare, even these, apart from their words, their votes, and those of some of their family members, did not add any votes to the SP.

Rama played with the strategy of bringing "opponents" closer at the height of the campaign, when the party could turn against him, and won.

What prevents him now that he is the absolute leader and sees that even the human resources of the SP are being depleted, from "opening up" the party and, in the name of EU integration and presenting himself with a new face, bringing moderate opposition members closer?

Or should he also include technocrats in the government, even from other parties or unaffiliated ones?

Hypotheses are, but, WHAT IF?

Time will tell.../ CNA