Why I won't vote for the Joint Movement

2025-03-30 17:41:00, Politikë Ola Xama

I am convinced that neither the programs, nor the ideologies, nor the utopian promises that have become a habit of campaigns - where candidates appear to us like magicians holding a magic wand, with which they can turn the country into a promised land - can change the situation in which Albania finds itself today.

As for the clash of ideas on the presence of the state in the public sphere and the establishment of boundaries between the public and the private, I still believe that this is neither the time nor the place (Albania) that deserves these discussions, when today we are in danger of slipping into an autocratic system. The values ??of meritocracy have been overturned, the quality of public services has decreased, corruption has increased and a model has been installed where, in order to legally wash their hands, the country's assets are given by law or collegial decisions.

Therefore, I believe that before we talk about what model will save the country, we should demand the implementation of good governance standards, the functioning of independent bodies from the Assembly to second- and third-tier agencies, and the guarantee that laws are implemented and the state is not captured.

One of the most worrying problems of the Albanian economy is its capture by a handful of businessmen who, thanks to connections and help from the government, have managed to obtain land, permits, licenses, exploitation rights, tenders, contracts, etc., placing themselves at the top of the country's pyramid. At this moment, we can no longer talk about democracy or about the principles of whether the market should be freer - or more controlled by the state. Today we are in a situation where the state makes you rich, the state makes you poor - it depends on the leader's desire.

The Bashke Movement has had at the core of its denunciations the oligarchic system of the country. Contrary to this line of theirs, I think that in Albania there are no real oligarchs who decide the leaders, but vice versa - businessmen who offer to serve as best they can and receive the reward of being rich by holding in their name the wealth of politicians. But this is another issue.

I liked the Bashke Movement for these denunciations and especially for the fact that in the 2023 Local Election campaign it was the only political force that denounced the violations and criminal connections in all the towers being built in the capital.

The doubts about the veracity of the denunciations of this political force came to me a few months later, when I saw that on issues where I shared a different opinion – you suddenly turned into an enemy (no change from the mentality of traditional parties). Another bad impression was left on me by the insistence on denouncing the media that does not show the activities of this party, secretly avoiding the essence of whether the media are captured by economic interests, or were only captured by those that did not broadcast its activities; up to the protest where instead of the serious incident of the policeman prevailing, there was a fight over who was its owner.

I did not form the conviction that I would not vote for the Together Movement even when I read the paradoxical program on some issues, because as I said above, neither the level of taxation nor the access to social policies make Albania - I formed the conviction when I saw that Redi Muçi, the son of one of the partners of the oligarchs that the Together Movement denounces and says it will fight, was ranked first on the Tirana list - while in Gjirokastra, his sister Stela Muçi is a candidate on the open list.

Polls suggest that the chances are that the Together Movement will only manage to get 1 candidate in Tirana, so every vote of those who sympathize with this force will go to Mr. Redi Muçi who is listed on the closed list. Redi Muçi is the son of Fredi Muçi, a builder in the capital and shareholder in several construction materials and concrete production companies, but also one of the partners in the company “Arameras” shpk, together with the company Concord Investimet of the Dulaku brothers.

This company has built a resort in Ksamil, in a protected area - while the land was modestly leased years ago by the Albanian government as a "simulated" entity. The Concord Investment and Edil Al companies of Fredi Muçi's partners have benefited from land leases of 1 euro, numerous concessions, building permits, public contracts, tenders, etc. and are part of the list of the oligarchic system that this force denounces.
That's why I will not vote for the Joint Movement. If the elimination of the oligarchic system is at the forefront of its campaign, giving the only seat you expect to get in parliament to one of the children of those you denounce, overthrows every principle! / CNA