HOPES AND GREAT DISAPPOINTMENTS
Statement of the General Steering Committee of the Socialist Party
The more the firefighters of the electoral victory of the 22nd of the PS try to put out the fire, the more clearly honest people can understand the essence of the "democrats'" victory, the political, parliamentary and economic causes that brought it, and its heavy consequences for the present and future of Albania.
In explaining the causes of the PD's victory, two kinds of attitudes are increasingly visible. The first, official, triumphalist, propagandistic and demagogic, belongs to the leadership of the Democratic Party, which attracts its militants and uninformed people. The second, critical, measured and scientific, is being affirmed more and more not only among socialists, but also among democrats, even in the right-wing press. From this analysis the true factors that brought the PS defeat of 22 March are becoming ever clearer.
Under conditions of all-embracing state propaganda, a climate of terror and organized political pressure, use without criterion or morality of the administration, police, secret services and financial and media means; under conditions of numerous manipulations, vote-buying, intimidation and attacks on opponents, the result of 22 March cannot be taken as a free expression of the people's will.
The Socialist Party and its allies were not defeated in a fair contest. They faced a political and state machinery aimed at distorting citizens' will at all costs. This is the basic truth that must be said today without fear.
However, it would also be wrong to deny our own weaknesses. We did not manage to convince broad strata of the population enough; we did not penetrate where the ruling propaganda had created fog and uncertainty; we did not organize at the proper level the defense of the vote and the political response to violations.
Today, three years after 22 March, the balance is visible. Promises of welfare, democracy and rule of law have largely remained promises. Most people feel in their daily lives impoverishment, insecurity, unemployment, emigration, injustice and the arrogance of power. The economy remains fragile, corruption has grown, institutions have been politicized and the social climate has worsened.
In these conditions, the Socialist Party remains determined to strengthen its organization, deepen dialogue with citizens, cooperate with all progressive forces and present itself as a serious alternative of democratic and social governance. We are not a party of nostalgia, but a modern force of the European left, linked to national interests and the real needs of the people.
The hope of Albanians cannot be extinguished. It is reborn whenever truth clashes with deception, whenever citizens understand that the fate of the country cannot be left hostage to a group of people thirsty for power. The great disappointments of these three years are at the same time a political school for Albanian society.
The Socialist Party will continue to stand beside working people, intellectuals, youth, pensioners, the peasantry and all those who seek dignity, justice and development. Only in this way can Albania emerge from crisis and move on the road of a democratic and social state.