A loss that is an opportunity for progress

By ERMAL HASIMJA
In July 2005, the Left won more votes numerically than the Right, however, everyone is of the opinion that these elections were won by the Right. On 18 February, both camps tried to convince everyone that they had both won, from their own viewpoints; however, everyone feels that the Right lost. What defines loss? Not merely numbers. The loss of the Right, last Sunday, can’t be measured in figures. The symbol of this loss is the rupture in the Right, first of all in Tirana, but also in Durr쳬 Elbasan and Kor衮 It is the legitimate right of the Right wing forces to interpret the results of 18 February as they wish, even as a historical victory. We could even rest assured that those who organized the botched part related to the content of the campaign of the DP would find commiseration in blaming the very confused structures of the DP, the traditional socialist mobilization, ignorance or impatience of the voters and the misunderstanding of their devotion and endless other non-existent reasons of this kind. I find it difficult to imagine that those persons in charge of the DP campaign, who, usually are never on the podiums and don’t hold official posts, would come out and admit their responsibility. The misfortune of the DP and of Berisha is that after so many years, he has not been able to comprehend the consequences of such a catastrophic conception that is made of the electorate and politics. In contrast, all we have to remember is the most perfect moment of communication Berisha had in the 2005 campaign, the speech he delivered at the Assembly of the DP. Why? Because in this speech, the candidate for PM, Berisha, did not waste a single word on attacking his opponent, Nano, but drew the image of a visionary leader, for whom the major priorities are the urgent requirements of the voters and not the condemnation or diabolical depiction of his opponent. I an sure that it is more than obvious that this speech was not drafted by the persons who organized the 18 February DP campaign!
The DP targets a general electorate, using far reaching means that are utilized by 2-3 newspapers which only address a very narrow category of voters. How can you claim to convince voters who speak thousands of different political languages, if you are going to address them with the language you have used for years to hypnotize an insignificant group of nondescript militants? The DP should have grasped, at least from the polls and surveys run that the popularity of the politicians is directly dependent on their abilities to produce a language of compromise, consensus and tolerance, a language that seeks to convince the voters that his alternative is the best, and not a language that strives to convince the voters that the opponent does not deserve to be in politics, but in prison or a Mental Home. For as much as morale is distinct from politics, the campaign of the DP should have been built on better alternatives, not on conflicting exclusion of the other alternative, irrespective of the fact that for many voters (including some of those who voted Left), the Left wing alternative was less convincing.
But, nonetheless, the right wing elite and its leadership have benefited two exceptionally important things in this election: first of all they gained the respect of the citizens for the organization of the most free and fair elections since 1994 and secondly, the possibility to comprehend how political stands and speech should not be constructed. But, whilst the first can be easily and legitimately grasped, the same cannot be said for the second. The stand the Majority continues to maintain exceeds the boundaries of the motivation of militants or commissioners. This stand could be the a symptom of a misread of what happened. The Right did not merely lose the majority of the votes, but it also lost about 15 per cent of the votes of the fluid electorate which was the foundations of its 3 July 2005 electorate. It did not lose abstract voters, but it lost voters of the most right wing zones in Albania, in Tirana, in Durres, Korca or Elbasan. The fact that a part of the communes, strongholds of the socialists, voted Right testifies to a dramatic trend of the transformation of the democrat electorate. This reveals above everything that whether or not the Right remains in office depends on the amorphous electorate which could be Right or Left, in other words, nothing. In other words this is an electorate that resembles the quicksand on the Atlantic coastline. This is not the right ground on which to construct a coherent right wing policy. The Majority is far more dependent on the post-18 February electorate than it has ever been before, and chiefly, this is an electorate with leanings and demands that are not Right.
The most negative effect that the 18 February vote may have on the Ruling Majority will not be the loss of the major municipalities, but a total misread of the reasons for losing. He ones who are responsible for the disastrous campaign of the DP are going to do their best to prevent the leadership of the DP from comprehending the message, because this message would expel them from the game. Berisha has the opportunity and the possibility of understanding this message himself, without mediation and with every lucidity. On 18 February, the electorate expressed their stand in the most spectacular manner possible. The general elections of 2009 will not be able to serve as a message any longer; they will either be a evaluation of the proper reading of the message of 18 February, or a declaration of the termination of a contract. In the weeks to come, we will have the chance to observe whether or not the ruling majority has accepted the meaning of Sunday’s vote, or whether it has hidden its head in the sand like an ostrich. One element will be visible if there is a change of political ratios within the Majority. The change of several Ministers could perhaps bring about positive improvements for the Right. However, it would be a mistake to think that this would be the solution of the problem. The problem does not lie in the Government, but in the way the government operates. The Ruling Majority would have to courageously and honestly confront fundamental problems such as wasting all that energy to build up a policy of exclusion toward the opponent, in the face of the urgent need to confront economic challenges, the disappointment of the former land owners, the stressful climate created for a part of the businesses operating in the country and naturally the transformation of the traditionally right wing electorate. These are only a few of the challenges. The voters of 18 February are no different from those of 3 July. In the first case, they voted against the feudal socialist model of government, while in the second case, they revealed that they had not merely used their vote to punish the socialists, but also the hope of an effective government. This government must be based on an analysis of the loss in Tirana, Durr쳬 Kor衠or Elbasan.