Albanians and international friends are looking for the country’s next president to have the right authority and integrity that can help the presidency rise above the political fray — someone like Përparim Kalo.
TIRANA, April 4, 2022 – Albania’s Socialist Party, in power since 2013, has started looking for the country’s next president after it has become clear the incumbent will not get a second term, continuing a post-1997 tradition.
That is not surprising considering President Ilir Meta’s feud with the Socialist government escalated in an attempt to remove him from office early. The Socialists accused Meta of being politically biased in favor of the opposition through actions and rhetoric related to local and general elections. A Constitutional Court ruling backed Meta, nonetheless with the official mandate ending soon, a replacement will be needed.
Thus, the Socialists have announced the establishment of a special commission consisting of MPs Taulant Balla, Damian Gjiknuri and Elisa Spiropali — all of whom are part of Prime Minister Edi Rama’s most trusted and obedient inner circle in the Socialist Party.
The commission is supposed to collect candidacies and then consider which ones to put forward. Looking back at history, it is a repeat of Fatos Nano’s commission to select the next prime minister when everyone knew everyone knew that he had already pre-select himself.
Does this mean Mr. Rama wants to hold both jobs — prime minister and president? Perhaps not, but if Rama is looking for a suitable candidate, it needs to be one that does not follow the mold of recent presidents — which have all come from long political careers and squeezed through in parliament with no compromise in order to avoid early parliamentary elections.
With the most recent changes to the constitution, the president can be selected in a third-round vote by a simple majority, which the Socialists have, thus deflating even previous needs for some sort of compromise. Although a few months ago Rama suggested that there may be consultations with the opposition, it seems that at this point these are neither possible nor desirable.
But although SP can indeed pick a Socialist with a simple majority, it doesn’t have to do so.
In a small but growing important circle of the Socialist Party there is an increasing sense that they need to put forward a candidate that can realistically be perceived by the public as independent — someone with the right stature, authority and integrity — in essence someone with presidential gravitas.
One such candidate that fits the bill perfectly is Përparim Kalo, a top jurist who currently serves as a judge in the Constitutional Court. It is clear Judge Kalo would be a top contender if the race were really about being fit for the office.
One of Albania’s best and most experienced lawyers and a leader in the legal community, Mr. Kalo is known for his close relations with various institutions over the years. He has served as Honorary Consul of Denmark and has also invested in Tirana’s art and culture for years.
But what makes Mr. Kalo the right candidate and should be appreciated by all is his authority and integrity. An important diplomatic source in Tirana told Tirana Times that the election of the new head of state is in the hands of the Albanian parliament. But Mr. Kalo as a candidate is seen as admirable. “We would really like to see a president that is respected and has the authority, integrity and who is certainly above the political parties in Albania,” the source noted.
It’s a sentiment also shared by a large part of the Albanian public.
As per Albania’s constitution, the president is largely an honorary figure meant to represent the unity of the people and ideally should not be an active political figure. But because the political parties in Albania have seen the presidential election as a zero sum game tied to their own power, most presidents selected in recent history have been very political and pushed the boundaries of what is defined by the constitution, constitutional experts have noted.
A president like Mr. Kalo, who fits a different mold, would be a breath of fresh air for the country’s political life.
