As 2015 concludes and this newspaper reviews political and economic trends, it is clear the year has not been easy for Albania, the region and the continent as a whole.
Europe’s continuing economic malaise, the wars in the continent’s periphery and the ensuing refugee crisis as well as the growing threat from religious extremists have all left their marks in both the Balkans and Albania.
This country is not immune from any of these larger trends and, to one degree or the other, they all have had an effect.
However, first and foremost, the economy continues to under-perform, and Albania’s hope of catching up economically with even the poorest EU members continues to be an uphill battle.
Investors are shying away from major projects, the government has drastically cut public investments and anti-informality punitive measures have had a chilling effect on many businesses. All these cannot bode well for job creation and the economy as a whole.
With growing corruption allegations and increased resistance to some of the government’s reforms that have had an impact both individuals and businesses, the year has also been filled with political controversies, a trend likely to continue next year as well.
Albania’s government faced many challenges in the past year and both opinion poll numbers and anecdotal evidence suggest that support for the government is falling, even though this does not necessarily translate into direct support for the opposition. Many Albanians have told pollsters they are fed up the system entirely.
In particular, it is important to look at one of the major news stories of the year — one of the trends the Albanian government is trying to sweep under the rug: Thousands of Albanians left the country each month seeking a better life elsewhere, including the more than 50,000 who sought asylum in Germany.
We can analyze as to why it is wrong and unproductive for Albanians to seek political asylum in EU countries, when all they are trying to do is to improve their lives as economic migrants. They will get denials at a cost to themselves and the host countries.
However, that analysis does not deal with the real causes of why people leave Albania — including the lack of jobs, proper wages and arbitrary in enforcement of rules, which erodes both faith in the system and hope for the future.
Albania’s government must also analyse and try to find solutions for pressing problems involving the very basics for quality of life, including providing adequate healthcare and urban infrastructure.
It also needs to do more to instill hope, not through empty PR stunts but through real achievements people can believe in.
All these cannot be done in a year or two, but a momentum can be created either way — up and down — and based on what we have seen in 2015, the government has some catching up to do in the new year.
NOTE TO READERS:
Tirana Times publishes 50 issues on Friday every year, two of which are double issues like the one you are reading now. We will be back with the next print edition on Jan. 8, 2016. Until then, check out our website for web updates at tiranatimes.com.
