Cooperation—impossible in the jungle of Albanian politics
Politics—stripped of all political sense. The PP-PD compromise, a mountain of paperwork, is bringing the arbitrariness of the labels to light, carefully rewriting them to revive the former clientele. The spirit of this cooperation has been conditioned by the psychology of corruption and the Mafia. “The parties must set aside their political differences”—this is the message of the International Community, but in fact this is not about differences. It is simply a war between clans, with its own surprises and improbabilities. Ambassador Gerard Stoudmann, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, highlighted the lack of dialogue and a spirit of consensus in political processes and democratic development. But there can be no consensus, nor can specific formulas be recommended, in a political context where relations between government and opposition are not institutionalized. These political forces are dominated by opposition to the government, but not over the policies of governing. The issue only calls for technical changes. Once, the PD was in power and the PS was demanding early elections and a technocratic government. Now the PD finds itself in the same position. Both have a philosophy of revenge and destruction. When in opposition, they know how to organize armed gangs, while when they get into power they do not know how to dismantle them, in order to exercise a ... Continued on page 1