In a lengthy address, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama asserted on Tuesday that the country needs an extraordinary parliamentary commission with a three-year mandate to "fight corruption," calling on the opposition to collaborate "for the sake of integration." However, several opposition leaders swiftly dismissed the invitation, branding it as a disguised attempt to undermine the Justice Reform, while Gazmend Bardhi left the door open for cooperation.
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| Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama while speaking on Tuesday, May 7, 2024 |
Rama, gearing up for next year's parliamentary elections in a bid to secure a fourth term, faces a divided opposition and a severely tarnished government reputation, marred by consecutive corruption scandals.
In a speech lasting over two hours on Tuesday, Rama attempted to distance himself from corruption scandals, attributing them to "efforts to poison public opinion." He dismissed suggestions that he should take political responsibility for the numerous corruption scandals by resigning, arguing that Albania lacks the necessary administrative capacity to survive without a government, as is often the case in Belgium.
At the end of his lengthy speech spanning 13,000 words, Rama reverted to governance business, announcing an initiative for a parliamentary resolution calling for the establishment of a commission to combat corruption.
"My call today to all those who are against us is very simple, [...] let's create a space [...] a common workplace, [...] to identify steps to be taken and measures to be implemented," Rama declared.
The resolution, prepared by his parliamentary group, calls for the establishment of a parliamentary commission to identify the needs to combat corruption. One of the goals of the resolution and the special commission is to "strengthen" the parliament's capacities to oversee the government and independent institutions to fulfill its constitutional functions.
However, critics view it as a thinly veiled and repeated attempt to attack the Special Prosecutor's Office, which has allegedly arrested dozens of officials on corruption charges. Investigations have further tainted the government's image, widely perceived as tainted by systemic corruption. Rama denies these allegations.
Enkelejd Alibeaj, a deputy from the official Democratic Party, announced his vote against the resolution, deeming it absurd that the proposal to combat corruption comes "from the most corrupt prime minister of the most corrupt government."
"The aim is to interfere with the Justice Reform through parliament," Alibeaj stated.
Ilir Meta, another opposition leader, also told reporters that Rama lacks credibility for anti-corruption reforms. "No one expects reforms from Rama," he said.
However, Gazmend Bardhi, the head of the Democratic Party's re-founding group, which controls the largest number of opposition deputies, left the door open for compromise.
While criticizing Rama as someone who "neither wants nor manages to build a European and democratic state," Bardhi added that he "will have our contribution" within the framework of the call to cooperate for the country's European integration. When repeatedly asked by journalists what he would specifically contribute, Bardhi refused to provide details.
His parliamentary group is part of another compromise with the ruling majority, which resulted in the opposition's return to parliament and the establishment of two parliamentary investigative commissions. The compromise also resulted in the release or reduction of sentences for about 100 subjects of the Special Structure Against Organized Crime and Corruption, including the shortening of a sentence for a former mayor. The amnesty compromise was seen by many observers as a wrong signal in the fight against corruption.
However, the U.S. Embassy in Tirana responded to media requests for comment by describing Rama's initiative as "promising."
"...The United States applaud efforts based on the success of previous reforms [...] necessary for Albania's path towards EU membership and the Euro-Atlantic community," the embassy stated.
Rama is gearing up for next year's election campaign, where he will seek a consecutive fourth term as prime minister, aiming to become the longest-serving prime minister in the country's history after Mehmet Shehu, who ruled for 27 years during the communist era.
The initiative for a parliamentary commission on such reforms is not the first. In 2022, a group of experts from the Socialists proposed changes to the majority of laws governing the justice system and also envisioned a "legal consulting unit" within the SPAK, where non-judicial experts could work. The initiative was killed in 2023 by negative feedback from international experts, who deemed it a "wrong turn" in the justice reform.
In 2020, Albania's Western partners warned of the risk of a "compromise behind closed doors" with the aim of "killing the justice reform."