By Adrian Thano
Is there a socialist approach to the decisions, laws, and construction permits being issued for Zvërnec, Vlora, and the entire coast? The short answer is NO.
The first pillar of socialism is the protection of public property and ensuring that natural resources serve all of society. Second, for a socialist government, environmental protection and sustainability for future generations are as high a priority as economic growth. Third, socialism, in spirit, requires consultation and accountability, not “I know what’s good, the rest of you applaud.”
In fact, Edi Rama has never harbored any affinity for the doctrines or dogmas of the traditional left. If for a long time he tried to mask this ideological distance, today he has come out openly and without gloves. According to his approach, Albania does not have the luxury of waiting for the organic and slow growth that classical social policies offer. Instead, he has chosen large capitals, megaprojects with immediate visual impact, the construction of an illusion that he himself meticulously curates for a “modern Albania” that shines on screens with stadium facades or luxury resorts.
In this context, the "Socialist" logo of the party he leads is simply an electoral packaging to retain the traditional voter base. Albania today votes for a party that calls itself socialist, but receives a government that has nothing to do with socialism or the left.
Has the SP ever been left-wing?
In June 91, the Labor Party had to survive and change its skin. Under the leadership of a group of professors, writers, and economists, it underwent an ideological reform. During this period, the Socialist Party was leftist in the traditional sense, generally sympathetic to those who were affected by the transition of the 90s.
In addition, it was a party with internal democracy. There were factions, open debates, a collegial structure where the chairman could be challenged. And he was challenged often.
When Edi Rama took over the leadership of the Socialist Party in 2005, he brought with him the Blair model, a kind of "partnership" between the state and the private sector, although in appearance, he maintained and promised left-wing causes, such as progressive taxation, free healthcare, etc.
When he took power in 2013, Rama attempted to erase the name of the Socialist Party from the political vocabulary. In its place was born “Rilindja,” a movement that, as it rose to power, rapidly shed any leftist connotations or ideals. As soon as Rilindja’s facade was severely damaged by corruption, its architect took steps back. It returned to its old shelter, using the power of the PS logo and structure as a shield against abuse of power and political consumption.
But on the ground, meanwhile, vital services such as healthcare or infrastructure had been transferred to the private sector through PPPs.
Then came the "strategic investors." Through them, the greatest remaining national asset, the coast, was seized. Laws were crafted that favored a handful of individuals to seize public property and obtain state permits on properties without clear status.
This is being done with zero transparency and without any social balance.
Is Edi Rama following a pure pragmatist (albeit mistaken) conviction in what he is doing, or is he serving a pure corruption and money laundering scheme?
In reality, these two dimensions are not mutually exclusive. They coexist in a symbiotic relationship. We are not dealing with a dilemma. either-orWe have a system where grafted ideology serves as packaging for financial interests and corruption serves as the engine to realize the "vision".
Rama is a kind of missionary of the facade. He is not the classic thief who aims to fill the bags with money. He is guided by a kind of political aestheticism and has a big historical ego. He wants to leave a physical mark, high towers, luxury resorts, buttoned-up urban centers that look good in international architecture magazines.
To accomplish this "mission", he has created the cynical belief that Albania cannot be built with small capital or with local agriculture and factories. It cannot even be built with Albanians. Albania can be built by turning into a kind of Monaco of the Balkans or something like that.
The law, transparency, critical procedures, have now become "annoying obstacles" that have blocked the way of his aesthetic vision.
It must be borne in mind that this vision cannot be built in a vacuum. It requires billions of euros. Where does this money come from in one of the countries that on paper appears to be one of the poorest in Europe?
Here the role of corruption and money laundering with dubious sources, including drug trafficking or offshore capital, becomes inevitable and crucial. The model needs a network or cartel of investors who are ready to throw billions in exchange for tailor-made laws, free beaches, zero taxes, etc.
Today, Edi Rama offers these people political, legal and aesthetic license. They do the rest, including the "solutions" to the conflicts that are happening and will increase on the ground. Of course, the criminalization of society will increase. The symbiosis also produces the financing of the electoral machinery that Rama thinks guarantees him eternal power.
So it is naive to call him just an ideological fraud, because that ignores the billions that change hands to the detriment of the public interest.
But even to say that he is the ordinary corrupt is still incomplete. He truly believes that this "aesthetic" destruction is the only way to put Albania on the world map.
He is a shallow pragmatist who is using corruption as the main tool to build power and his personal vision.
NOTE: The article is the intellectual property of Dita newspaper.
