By Ben Andoni
Had it not been for our national football team’s match against Serbia, the issue of recounting hundreds of ballot boxes in Tirana would have dominated the headlines. Or more precisely, it would have captured the media’s attention. Regardless of what the public thinks, it remains extremely cautious about elections—which, in any case, still leave much to be desired in terms of standards, but even more so due to the confusion they create.
Viewed from any angle, the recount of 1,282 ballot boxes in Tirana and 44 in Dibra openly reveals the lack of trust—even within the political class itself—and above all… the notion of the impossible.
And for the past three decades, it has been this way:
Impossible to hold uncontested elections.
Impossible to respect the winner.
Impossible to concede defeat with dignity.
Impossible to trust even your own election staff.
Impossible to respect your internal rival (within the same party).
Impossible to offer a Mea Culpa.
Impossible to recognize your own flaws.
Impossible to rise for a clear-eyed analysis.
And much more…
Impossible not to overextend your power.
Impossible not to exploit state resources.
Thus, a major minus in these elections lies squarely with the ruling majority, which—even with the opposition in shambles (its candidate lists practically foreordained a loss)—sought to seize everything, by any means possible. Add to this the inertia of judicial institutions and the lack of moral authority to act decisively.
In short, the Albanian citizen stands today before the impossible, and the deep absence of trust to overcome it. He sees the impossible in the opposition’s incapacity to reinvent itself and inspire belief. He sees the impossible in the face of a power like Rama’s, which now recognizes no boundaries. The concept of “Renaissance,” once the main slogan of the socialists’ rise to power, has slowly but surely morphed into a “Power-ocracy.”
“Politics is a strong and slow boring of hard boards. It takes both passion and perspective. Certainly, all historical experience confirms this truth—that man would not have achieved the possible unless time and again he had reached out for the impossible. But to do this, one must be a leader—and not just a leader, but a hero, in the most tempered sense of the word. And even those who are not heroes must be able to withstand the destruction of all hope—this is necessary now more than ever, for without it, people will not even attain what is still possible today,” wrote Max Weber.
It is time people clear their minds about this “impossible” that plays out before their eyes, but more importantly, about the future—one that is becoming ever more unattainable for a vast majority, while what is still possible is hoarded for a privileged few.
(Javanews)