The sad truth of the never ending transition
The process of the constitutional court which is validating the claims that led to the impeachment of the Albanian president Meta is slowly becoming an ugly public showdown. The president whose behavior has long betrayed the seriousness or even the minimal official décor required by his institution is trying to flex his muscles, organizing emotional press conferences.
The court is pushing the can down the road, issuing questions and postponing sessions. The majority is saying they have already kicked the President out by voting him out in the parliament.
How did we end up here?
At this ugly sad crossroads where political immaturity shines like the blade of a knife stuck deep into a country’s future.
This outcome of several things is exposing a sad truth: that the never-ending joke of transition is unfolding at our expense.
Prime Minister Rama and his majority were never doing the right thing when electing Ilir Meta as president, they were just appeasing him in a corner, or so they thought to manage him better, to get him out of the direct political competition. To some degree that worked.
The behavior of presidents in Albania has gone down proportionally to the quality of political compromises made to elect them, consistently worsening off.
The assurances of Ilir Meta that he will continue to be a key factor in the Albanian political scene is telling of the fact that this political class has no aim at giving up any privilege even if this means pushing the country beyond the borders of authoritarianism. The pervasive and aggressive culture of the zero sum game is calcifying at horrendous speed in all layers of political and public life.
And finally the judicial sector, on whose reform much expectations are pending , seems in a desperate attempt to show independence, credentials and accountability but still being numerated and labeled as belonging to X or Y, still being viscerally criticized as performing an unconvincing show act.
On the sidelines the opposition is barely breathing, caught up in one of the most difficult throes of a internal division, risking to become obsolete, coming too close to the Serbian scenario where it loses all chances of importance.
In the meantime, as democracy erodes, institutions personalize and media follows along as a happy lap dog, we say that we have indeed fulfilled all criteria to open negotiations. A complacent EU tries to push down the can and postpone.
It’s a sad sad story.
The ultimate joke therefore is on us, the citizens. Meta says he is sure that in 20 years he will be elected president once again. The way things are going, he just might…
