The PS’s hour of reckoning
As a consequence of the situation that has arisen within the PS, the existence of a faction in the true sense of the word has become a necessity.
Indeed, it can be said that the present moment is ideal for the factional movement to gain ground quickly. Given that party elections will be held in a few weeks, the faction’s architects have an opportunity to use the election campaign to proclaim their ideas, capitalizing on the discontent that has taken root among the grassroots as a result of Nano’s steps to move the party to the right. In fact, the faction’s embryonic unrest within the PS first appeared with opposition to the idea voiced by Nano that “the government’s program must be the party’s bible.” The right-wing economic policies being implemented by the government led by Nano, which do not fit with the character of the PS as a defender of underprivileged groups, have caused great discontent among the PS grassroots, who, like most of the people, are suffering the consequences of implementing such economic policies. For this reason, the faction members, naturally playing the social-policy card, are very likely to put the party leader in a very difficult position. Moreover, Nano’s opponents have an opportunity to exploit the violations of the party statute committed by him in his attempt to impose the party’s right-wing line, not to mention the ways in which people from outside the party, who had no prior connection to it, were co-opted. And now, by putting the idea of a faction before him, Pëllumbi and the others have an opportunity to put to the test the sincerity of Nano’s slogans about the party’s “Europeanization” or “democratization.” The way he responds to the faction of his opponents will be the “acid test” in this regard. The fact that the idea of a faction is being openly advanced on the eve of the elections is very likely to undermine Nano’s announced plans to change the local PS leadership. On the other hand, his “generosity” toward coalition allies over the allocation of posts is another reason for the PS grassroots to lean more toward the “antiNano” faction. In this respect, the dismissal of socialist ministers is also bound to have an effect; some of them have considerable influence within the party. But the existence of a “left-wing” faction within the PS is also highly significant in another respect. Now, following the legalization of the Communist Party, there is a strong likelihood that the part of the socialist membership that disagrees with the rightward policies of Nano and his group will knock on the doors of Milloshi and Hasani’s party. Therefore, a faction positioned on the left, in the PS’s traditional position, would serve as a dam to ...