Beyond economic issues, 2012 will likely be a politically stable year in Albania, something that should be used to advance EU integration and help the country weather the global economic storm.
Tirana Times Editorial
TIRANA, Jan. 05 – Few would doubt that 2012 will be a year full of challenges for Albania. But there are opportunities too. We all realize the eurozone crisis and the general global economic malaise will affect this country to some degree. But these economic difficulties will also be coupled with what promises to be a stable year politically, something Albania hasn’t seen since the problematic elections of 2009 and the political deadlock that ensued.
To be sure, the selection of a new president and preparations for the scheduled 2013 elections will cause some political commotion, but there likely won’t be any repeated episodes of political turmoil and boycott. And a shifting political landscape, with two new parties with hypothetical support among voters, will likely make the majority government strike a more conciliatory tone with the opposition and the new entrants despite the strong rhetoric of 2011.
In a global climate full of fear about the future, it is also easy to fall prey to pessimism and political fear-mongering, that’s why Albanians also need to be careful of patriotism tied to the country’s centennial being used as a political tool for creating the sort of right-wing nationalism that is somewhat foreign to the current Albanian political scene and is already causing problems elsewhere in former communist Europe.
This is also not a time to be pessimistic or cynical. The government’s assessment of how well the Albanian economy is doing, considering the shape our immediate EU neighbors are in, might be exaggerated, but so is the opposition’s doom and gloom portrait of a third world Albania.
Albania has come a long way in the past decade, and barring any huge international events in 2012, Albania’s economy will continue to grow at a lukewarm pace, which is better than nothing but worse than it could have been were these still boom times internationally.
The sort of political stability 2012 offers makes it an ideal year to focus on Albania’s key national project: European integration. Albania’s political class failures of the past mean this task has now become even more difficult as since the EU is in the middle of a crisis of its own. But with the right focus and determination, the candidate status for EU membership is achievable by the end of 2012.
Beyond economic and political issues, 2012 also offers a strong sense of national pride that comes with the country’s 100 years of independence being celebrated on Nov. 28. That force can be turned into focus to address key issues to further improve life in Albania: a properly functioning democracy, fighting corruption and implementing a strong rule of law that is equal for all.
Albania faces a lot of challenges ahead, but 2012 demands focus, hard work and a can-do attitude, not pessimism and cynicism to address them.
