Many years forward, when scholars and interested historians shall look back at Albania in 2016 they will be very much perplexed. It will be a case study in a curios, absurd tension between internal forces in a country trying to undermine national interests and external forces trying to reach a favorable equilibrium. If that seems counter intuitive well that’s because it is.
The justice reform has become a tiresome word given how much space it has occupied so far in national media, discussions and how much energy it has consumed out of every actor, every citizen, every journalist. In the latest installment of the series, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs at the United States Department of State, Victoria Nuland landed in Tirana to try and get some sense into the domestic politics. It was not to be. After the plane departed again, the opposition came forward with yet another proposal that caused immediate expressed disappointment at the American Embassy quarters.
The current situation is at the edge. Members of parliament are being asked by the highest ranking officials of the EU, important member states and the United States to vote according to their conscience and not their party line. Citizens and media are involved in a painful countdown to July 21.
The fact that the role of the international community in the country has reached this apex is not comforting. European Union officials judging the candidacy of Albania would be well excused to leave the country out of negotiations for alarming scale of lack of maturity, even if the justice reform passes. If you do something just because the adults force you to, than how much credit can you really claim for it? At this point all the viciousness of the politicians who have faked support, created obstacles out of thin air, changed their minds in vertigo-inducing frequency, blackmailed national unrest, fermented intrigue and sowed dissent is out in the open for everyone to see and evaluate. It is a picture of gloom for the true hopes and aspirations of a society that yearns for the completion of its democratic transition and entry into the EU.
Some months ago our paper argued that all political sides want to kill the justice reform for different reasons. They have almost succeeded in doing so. It is the unrelenting pressure from the international community that has been its lifeline. As we enter the final countdown, relief seems close. Next week might end the political career of some and will definitely change life in Albanian politics as we know it. However, no matter how things end up one conclusion will not change: the lessons learned during the process do not give us much hope for the future.
