Ninety days and several international representatives, who visited Albania one after the other, weren’t enough to reach this highly anticipated agreement between Edi Rama and Lulzim Basha. Both showed, yesterday and today, a willingness to budge from their early convictions in order to reach an agreement, while being present together in the same office.
They exuded a sort of calmness and a rare understanding toward each other, a feeling that is generally missing in the Albanian politics. The signed agreement, today, between the sides, was held in secrecy, until it went viral unexpectedly, as is the habit. The chit-chats in the offices and restaurants become public through the media, adding to the uncertainty and making online portals true distributors of false news.
Only after going through a lot of disagreements and being generally divided, Rama and Basha have been discreet with the end results of the meeting. Their final agreement became known to their close allies at the same time that it became available to the general public. The package approved, today, while holding the name of a foreign diplomat, is, in fact, an Albanian product.
These pointers have often been part of discussion that have taken a long time to finish and with no apparent results. This clearly shows that in their plans, both Rama and Basha have been keen on tolerance, allowing changes from their initial positions of three months ago. The meetings and the international representatives weren’t enough to get here, but the legal deadlines and the electoral college, a decision that could have been another fiasco in the Albanian politics.
With an agreement at hand, but with no known names, the attention of everyone will concentrate on the new ministers and what is expected to change after they are appointed. This is what is written, ink on paper, in the agreement between the two parties that of course holds a part that is unknown. A part that nobody cares to talk about, as long as enthusiasm reigns over both political parties.
The lengthy hours of conversation between Rama and Basha have been sufficient to discuss and decide over other points that could be of interest for the two big parties. In cases like this, conspiracy theories are prevalent, which mostly affect the parties that are left outside of the discussions and that could see the big danger of a reunion of PD and PS, this happening at their expense.
These theories could be handled best by Rama and Basha themselves, but at the present moment they have chosen to remain silent and to communicate through past agreements. Casting a tall shade of doubt, and a feeling that what was left unsaid during the meeting would perhaps have a bigger impact that what actually came to light in the discussion.
While, once again, confirming that in the name of power and votes, there exist no eternal friendship or enmity. Alliances signed quickly, with no special desire. The unspoken of the meeting becomes a dagger ready to stab its victims or its new tent.
