By TIRANA TIMES EDITORIAL
When NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen visited Tirana on Thursday, little more than a year after Albania became a member of the alliance, what the Albanian media really wanted to know was – what he thought about the domestic political crisis.
Rasmussen, being as diplomatic as possible, said he would rather stay out of domestic politics, but all parties should take an active and positive role in political life, which includes the opposition fully joining parliamentary life.
The true NATO business – increasing Albania’s Afghanistan presence by 85 troops for a total of 260 and providing education funding for Afghans – was almost an afterthought for reporters, who like the rest of the society have become entirely enveloped in the political standstill.
But looking back at Albania’s first NATO annual balance sheet, it shows this small country has a clear ambition to be an active member of the alliance, through sending troops to NATO missions. But what can be even more important, Albanians tend to see their NATO membership as a recognition of the transformation that has occurred in Albania over the past 20 years, or even as evidence of a Western identity.
Albania has been under the Euro-Atlantic safety umbrella for a year now, and NATO membership serves investment in national security and confidence.
There is no doubt that membership in the alliance has imposed a number of reforms dealing with the armed forces and security institutions as well as defense in general.
In short, NATO membership is a confidence booster. But while those reforms have gone fairly well, domestic politics continue to show evidence of lack of political maturity as parties have returned to old political conflicts, including the boycott of parliament or disagreements that practically mean the parliament does not function.
Albania’s political elite either does not understand or is unwilling to accept that fact that being a NATO member is more than reforming the armed forces or sending troops to NATO peacekeeping operations.
Membership in the alliance means that you have to support achievements in the military field with economic development and a fully-functioning democratic system.
The day after the NATO chief visited Tirana, the opposition is mounting a massive protest rally against what it says were irregularities in the June polls last year. There are clear calls from the opposition that the government should either recount the votes or resign.
This comes nearly eight months after the opposition has not been present in parliament, where it holds enough seats to guarantee no major legislation can pass. In essence, the parliament, the most basic institution of a functioning democracy, has stopped working.
A year after NATO, Albania’s domestic and foreign ambitions are still being scarred by the deep political divisions of domestic politics. In essence, they are deeply hurting the confidence-building process that started with NATO membership last year.
