Albania Crisis – Junior coalition partner says German FM did not help defuse political deadlock

Tirana, Albania | Tirana Echo – Two days after German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel slammed Albania’s opposition democrats, the junior partner of ruling center-left coalition LSI says Gabriel’s visit did not help defuse the country’s political crisis.

During a visit to Albania’s capital Tirana, Germany’s FM Sigmar Gabriel slammed the country’s opposition which is currently boycotting parliament and demanding PM Rama’s resignation. Gabriel met with opposition representatives only after his strong criticism on their boycott strategy, prompting several local analysts to depict his comments as bias, in favor of prime minister Edi Rama who belongs to the same social-democratic political family as Gabriel’s SPD.

Immediately after his meeting with German FM Gabriel, Democratic Party chairman Lulzim Basha said the opposition would not go back and that only a technical government could guarantee free and fair elections.

“I spoke with Gabriel on the real facts of the reality in Albania, no of narratives produced by lobbyists paid by drug and corruption money. I presented incontestable arguments which demount the government’s deceptions on the state of crime, drugs and their impact on justice reform and elections in Albania,” – said a defiant Basha after his meeting with Gabriel in Tirana.

In addition to Basha calling Gabriel’s comments as one-sided and uninformed, the junior partner of the center-left governing coalition the Socialist Movement for Integration (LSI) voiced concerns over the comments of the German foreign minister.

The chair of LSI parliamentary group Luan Rama said the positions of internationals are helpful as long as they are balanced otherwise they do not help defusing the country’s current deadlock.

“Any one-sided positions from internationals are unhelpful in the current situation. The problem is the result of the political irresponsibility of Albanians and the country has had enough costs from political madness of Albanian politicians,” said Luan Rama in a press conference.

Concerns were also voiced by LSI’s International Secretary Ralf Gjoni last night who said that Gabriel’s statement was ‘incomplete’ and did not help the political crisis.

“It would be in line with the political and moral reason that the foreign minister of the strongest member of the EU meets with the opposition before deciding to slam them publicly. Gabriel should have met with all sides, could have also given the opposition a ‘cold shower’ during and after the meeting, but his statement was incomplete. No one is against the opposition going back to parliament, but at the same time you cannot ignore certain tangible problems in the country such as the criminalization of police structures and the multiplication of cannabis cultivation. I believe this was a position which did not help defuse the crisis and lowers the very credibility of the EU in the region. The German foreign minister is well informed, but what happened? He came, he spoke, he left and the opposition is even more radical in its resolve than ever.” – said Ralf Gjoni to ‘Tonight Ilva Tare’ at Ora News.

The LSI representative added that while the internationals are being patient, the country needs “long-term solutions which can only come from within, otherwise any pre-written solutions from foreigners would be like bike tyre rubber patches which would only last temporarily.”

Comments come after German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel stated in Tirana on Monday that there are lots of prejudices in Europe over Albania and what the opposition is doing only strengthens such prejudices.

Analysts in the country like Alfred Lela said that the German minister choose to talk of the Turkish referendum and its poor standards, while ignoring the subject of the election standards required by the opposition in Tirana. “Why is democracy more important than stability in Turkey, while in Tirana stability is worth more than democracy?” – asked Lela in an Op-Ed after Gabriel’s visit.

“No one in Germany or in Europe understand how only weeks ahead of upcoming general elections the opposition asks for a technical government. This is incomprehensible and the national interest of an opposition could not be chaos. I call on those who have taken Albania on a crossroad. If parliament continues to be blocked as well as the reform of the justice system, then your path towards the EU is getting harder. The lives of Albanian citizens will also become harder.” – said Gabriel who added that the parliamentary boycott of the opposition democrats is blocking justice reform and damages Albania’s reputation.

However, the Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders on official visit the same day in Tirana held a more balanced view.

“We praise the government’s engagement in reforming the justice system and the time has come for its implementation through the Vetting process. I believe elections are important. This is an internal matter and I do not wish to get involved but I believe there should be political dialogue in order to have free and fair elections,” – said Koenders during his press conference with his Albanian counterpart in Tirana.