After four years of denigrating the electorate of the opposition by calling it “sheep” and its leader a “loser”; after having labored to castrate civil society up to the point that he, afterward, raised the question “where is civil society, so that I may put a bouquet on its grave?”; after disqualifying all critical journalists by calling
Four years ago, in 2013, it seemed like Albania had undergone a colorful revolution: It fell asleep blue and woke up violet. After two decades of the limelight, Sali Berisha, the old guide of the Democratic Party was defeated by Edi Rama, “the socialist artist” (as he was labelled both at home and abroad, in many
Shkëlzen Berisha, son of former Prime Minister Sali Berisha, has filed a lawsuit against author Guy Lawson of War Dogs, as well as his publisher, Simon & Schuster. Berisha has sued them over “false, incendiary, and defamatory allegations of [his] involvement in organized crime, corruption, and a scheme to defraud the Unites States government.” The book,
I was around six years old, and after five decades of popular spectacle with the ballot boxes Albania was having free elections for the first time. That afternoon, when my dad returned home, we dressed up and went to an important event happening 500 meters away from home. As we reached the voting center, which
Yesterday evening, Prime Minister Edi Rama spoke with journalist Sokol Balla about the June 25 elections and his new cabinet. Although Prime Minister Rama did not address any possible government coalition, he spoke about a “platform of co-governance,” which would involve Albanian citizens. Part of this “platform” has been the Prime Minister’s post-electoral outreach to
This is not the first time that the Democratic Party organizes a real race to choose its leader. This is a well-known event for everyone who has been at least once inside the party. It lacks, in all honesty, the charm of four years ago, when Sokol Olldashi, right after the general election loss, possessed a willingness
After parliamentary elections in Albania on 25 June, the Socialist Party (PS) took power with an outright majority and the ability to form a single-party government – a development the country has not seen since 2001. The election presents a unique opportunity for a country that has been marred by political divisions and coalition in-fighting
The last three days can be considered the worst days for the Democratic Party. I recall that in the most challenging years 1997 or ’98 and 2001, there were still more supporters going about aimlessly in the halls or offices of the party’s headquarters, whining because communists had regained power with a revolution. In the past,
As nearly all ballot boxes have been counted, the new political landscape of Albania is coming into sharper relief. Dibra, Fier, Korça, Lezha, and Vlora have all reported 100% of their votes, whereas in the other counties more than 92% of the votes have been counted as of now. Overall, the PS is big winner
The Albanian standard of evaluation: five of the most active deputies in parliament were not included again in the candidate lists of their political parties (Erjeta Alhysa, Fatmir Toci, Jozefina Topalli, Namik Kopliku, and Anila Agalliu), and from the list of the “silents” 21 to 27 deputies were reelected in their previous positions. In countries with a