Yesterday afternoon Prime Minister Rama – very nervous, visibly irritated, and with a speaking tempo that showed his eagerness to finish off as soon as possible with his duty to speak – spent nearly his entire weekly monologue on explaining the reasons for the changes in his government, without giving, in fact, any of them.
When he finished, everyone understood something very simple: the removal of Saimir Tahiri wasn’t done voluntarily, wasn’t done after quiet consideration, but under pressure and as a necessity to rescue his own power.
The most realistic assumption now seems that Tahiri was dismissed because of the persistence of foreign governments. As previously claimed by former Minister of Justice Ylli Manjani and opposition leader Lulzim Basha, credible public voices, and diplomatic sources in Tirana, several foreign governments had asked for a long time the dismissal of Tahiri from the government, because of their conviction or proof of his links with organized crime.
But until today, Edi Rama has remained unshaken by the side of his minister, creating increasingly the conviction with foreign governments that Tahiri’s criminal connections were not only known to the Prime Minister, but also profited him.
What changed and sealed Tahiri’s fate was the opposition protest, not incidentally aimed against the government’s relations with organized crime, which threaten the freedom of the upcoming elections.
Probably under the pressure that the internationals would openly support the opposition of Tahiri wouldn’t be removed, Rama finally decided to remove him in order not to threaten his power.
In order to hide this motive, he decided to remove also three other ministers, in an attempt to dress up the event as normal party strategy.
The second thing that we learned from the most difficult monologue that Rama held since he took office in 2013, is that he is afraid.
Rama has removed from the party – not just from the government – figures who were much more politically challenging and damaging to him, such as Koço Kokëdhima and Ben Blushi. But in neither of these cases did he show himself to be nervous, insecure, or fearful.
While yesterday, even though Saimir Tahiri has only withdrawn from the government, not the party, who showed himself very insecure not to appear afraid; Tahiri had been the person he was politically and privately closest to.
We can only speculate about the reason of this fear. Maybe the Prime Minister is afraid because he is now aware that his links to organized crime are not only known by foreign governments, but also taken seriously by them. Maybe he is afraid because after the removal of Tahiri from the head of the ministry that controls the police, it will be more difficult for him to control the criminal elements that influence his goivernment.
Or maybe, Edi Rama is afraid because now his strategy to manipulate the elections are no longer as secure as before. As he may also be afraid that the cannibization of Albania and the relation of the interests of the villagers who cultivate it with his electoral fate will no longer be as possible as he had planned it with Saimir Tahiri heading the police.
Whatever may be the reason, one thing can be said with certainty: the power of Edi Rama has never been at lower point, and there is no chance that it will grow again, independent the results of the upcoming elections. He has become compromised up to point that it has become unmanageable.
The economy, public opinion, and nearly all other factors with a political impact, except for crime, are currently working against him in way or another. Time now only works against him.
