Blushi – Socialist Party has reached the end of its historic cycle. Can’t offer anything else to Albania.

Edi Rama and Ben Blushi clash at the last Socialist Party Conference

Tirana, Oct 25 (Tirana Echo) – Former rebel socialist MP and well known Albanian author Ben Blushi has accused the governing Socialist Party led by Prime Minister Edi Rama as a group controlled and led by people with criminal links claiming that ‘the SP has reached the end of its historical cycle and it cannot offer anything new to Albanians’.

Blushi who quit the Socialist Party parliamentary group two weeks ago has teamed up with MP Mimoza Hafizi, another respected socialist who also quit Edi Rama’s party, to create a new political movement which aims to challenge the current political establishment in the upcoming general elections of June 2017.

Blushin also confirmed during a political talk show at News24 that Edi Rama had asked his support in case of a motion of no-confidence against Him by his ally Ilir Meta and the opposition democrats.

‘They begged me to keep them in power if Meta would have overthrown the government’ said Blushi.

Asked about a possible partnership with the Socialist Movement for Integration (LSI) of current Speaker of Parliament Ilir Meta, Blushi said that his group would consider the LSI only if it is not in coalition with the socialists of Edi Rama.

“If he (Meta) stands with Rama, he does not appear in my horizon. The difference between the SP and the LSI is that at least the latter holds internal elections to choose its leader” – said Blushi, referring to the recent row during the last socialist convention where he asked to challenge Edi Rama’s leadership, only to be refused an internal election procedure by the current leadership.

Ben Blushi has built a growing reputation of a provoking and rebel MP, slowly mounting his opposition to Edi Rama’s leadership as Prime Minister and leader of the Socialist Party which culminated with him recently quitting the governing parliamentary group while still holding to its mandate.

Blushi accuses the SP as a party led by businessmen with criminal links and which has fallen hostage to clientelist interests. PM Edi Rama on the other side, asked last week on Blushi’s movement cynically responded that ‘Blushi has had two chairmen, Fatos Nano and myself. With Fatos Nano he became minister. With me he wrote three books’.

Blushi’s accusations come at a time of internal struggle within the SP/LSI governing centre-left coalition, while the number of Albanians claiming asylum in Germany and other EU states stands at an alarming rate.

It is yet unclear if Blushi’s new party could get significant support given the current electoral system of Albania, but the rebel MP hopes he could plug into the increasing trend of dissapointment Albanians are showing towards the current political class.

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