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| Albanian Parliament convened for the first time after the April 25 elections this Friday |
Former Democrat leader Sali Berisha threatened on Friday that he would fight incumbent Lulzim Basha within Democratic Party structures and accused him of making deals and selling himself to Prime Minister Edi Rama, but refused to say whether he would aim to oust Basha.
Berisha found little sympathy in the ranks of Democrat MPs or other officials of this party after the decision to expel. He was hailed by a small number of supporters as leading DP politicians chose to remain silent.
Basha, 47, who entered politics as Berisha's candidate in 2005 and became DP chairman with his support in 2013, abruptly announced on Thursday night that Berisha had been expelled from the DP parliamentary group. because the latter has been labeled corrupt by the State Department. Over the next few hours, other DP officials, including its deputies, preferred to remain silent and not comment on the decision, while Berisha found sympathy from a small number of former officials as well as some pro-opposition journalists.
Berisha enjoyed moments of popularity on Facebook, where his page became "popular news" while about 50 supporters cheered him the moment he entered the building of the plenary sessions of the Albanian Parliament. He spoke to the media before the hearing, announcing that he would fight Basha.
"What happened is a Rama-Basha agreement," Berisha said, adding that that agreement "should be dismantled as soon as possible." However, he did not answer a direct question of whether he will try to overthrow Basha as chairman of the Democratic Party.
"I will take any legal or statutory initiative within the Democratic Party to return it to the pedestal it deserves," he said.
But whether he can cause unrest within his former party remains to be seen. Eight years after he left as chairman, the leadership structures of this party have changed frequently as members of the presidency or leaders of various structures chose to remain silent, without publicly supporting Basha and without criticizing him.
Bujar Nishani, the former president elected by Berisha, is one of the few Democratic politicians who spoke publicly against Basha.
Berisha also complained about violations of his rights within the Democratic Party, claiming that it is a party of legitimacy and human rights.
The US Embassy in Tirana, which had previously demanded that the DP distance from Berisha, welcomed the decision.
"The difficult decision announced yesterday by President Lulzim Basha deserves respect," the embassy wrote in a press release.
On Friday, the Albanian Parliament convened for the first time after the April 25 elections. Socialist Luljeta Bozo, 79 years old, opened the works as the oldest deputy.