By Ben Andoni
There is a great and unsolicited defense being mounted by many individuals close to the Democratic Party (PD) who seek to justify the election loss and what they describe as a grand theft. According to them, this means that we should no longer write about PD and the opposition—every arrow should be aimed squarely at the Socialist Party (PS).
Meanwhile, some of their own members are busy accusing each other of vote theft. Worse still, the Complaints and Sanctions Commission (KAS) has turned on Ilir Rusmajli, once one of their own. This is one of the most difficult moments not only for PD—as the main opposition force (since the other opposition parties carry negligible weight)—but for democracy itself.
In the name of “serving Rama,” we are being asked to avoid criticizing the opposition, and to focus solely on the governing majority. As if criticism would somehow damage the opposition. The Socialist Party will now have ample space and time to maneuver as it wishes. At this point, its only real opponent is itself, and we can only hope that some individuals within will begin to raise real issues. That, however, is a long shot!
Sadly, today’s democracy is not driven by media or individuals—but by power. And that power is now immeasurable in the hands of the Socialists. It is impossible for those who seek to defend the opposition—even through constructive criticism—to do so unless they possess a kind of moral compass that can stand in contrast to this power. One of the opposition’s fiercest adversaries’ biggest wishes is precisely this: for the opposition to fade from the spotlight. If they manage that, then this opposition is finished.
Berisha knows this well, which is why he keeps the narrative alive—sometimes with talk of revolution, other times with strict deadlines to bring down Rama, or with loud cries of electoral theft. But tackling the majority now requires more than intellectual investment—it requires dignity. Dignity to frame discussions that deal with the country’s future, especially the failure of the ruling party to keep its promises. Above all, it requires a reckoning with the absent standards and the question of why this majority, now at its peak, refuses to change the 2008 pact—with PD’s help—that has eroded public trust. It’s disheartening, because PD has had a hand in this all along. That’s why, after every election in recent years, we hear the same thing: “We’ll revisit the Electoral Code.” Yet, that only ever happens at the last moment. And it’s rewritten to suit the two major parties, with PS as the biggest beneficiary.
“The opposition is morality. Above all, it is moral power. It is not appointed. It is not delegated. It arises from the soul and heart of those whose interests it represents and protects,” Berisha himself said not long ago. It’s precisely this kind of morality the public is desperately searching for from them. Nothing more.
The term “narco-state” and all the other epithets stick to a country where the opposition is also complicit. And that’s the harsh, simple truth. We need to reinvent an opposition—one that reflects our demands and desires for change. One that stays alert and keeps pressure alive. But this pursuit is becoming an illusion, as those in both power and opposition enrich themselves.
And that part, unfortunately, is lost on the ordinary people—those who, time and again, cast their vote just as the political tricksters advise them to.
(Javanews)