Former deputy prime minister Ilir Meta is the highest-level official to face charges of corruption. But will the court ruling inspire trust or more cynicism?
Tirana Times Editorial
TIRANA, Jan 12 – State prosecutors in the trial of former Prime Minister Ilir Meta have asked the court to sentence him to two years imprisonment and a fine. And we will soon have a ruling in the case.
The Socialist Movement for Integration leader is being charged for his actions when he was deputy prime minister in the current coalition government led by Sali Berisha. The prosecution has based its case on hidden camera footage appearing to show Mr. Meta push former Economy Minister Dritan Prifti to favor companies and individuals in exchange for money and favors.
This case is particularly important, because Mr. Meta is the first official of his level to face such charges by state prosecutors. Albania has had a solid culture of impunity in the past. And Mr. Meta’s trial took a long year to get to this point, but it is important that it did.
Now many things are at stake as the trial comes to a conclusion. If the court convicts Mr. Meta, it will also likely mean the end for his political party. But it would also like kill the culture of being successful through buying votes, a local analyst points out. This is the first time that we have a lucrative party in Albania, a top diplomat tells Tirana Times. According to him, Mr. Meta after the trial will ask for the post of Minister of Public Works and Transport, where the real money is .This would be very damaging for Albania, the diplomat adds.
In Albania, there is general public perception that the most corrupt part of the public administration is made up of people from Mr. Meta’s party, the SMI. A month ago, a dozen SMI members, including local leaders were arrested for corruption.
A former high official at the Health Ministry, points out with surprise that since SMI took over the ministry, it has returned to high position executives at the Elbasan hospital that are members of the party and that had been previously fired over corruption allegations.
In addition, the coalition led by the Democratic Party could be at stake, as a majority might be hard to maintain, and the country could go to new elections.
All these are political considerations, and they should not matter to the court. It’s the letter of the law that matters there. But at this point, in Albania, there is a general perception that the justice system is primarily politically corrupt, in addition to potentially being generally corrupt. Better said, there is little public trust in the impartiality of the court system.
On the other hand, Prime Minister Berisha has accused the state prosecution of mounting a political prosecution process. But what could possibly push state prosecutors to fabricate charges against a former deputy prime minister?
Is Mr. Meta guilty? If he is not, then the prosecution’s primary witness, Mr. Prifti, should be convicted. In addition to his involvement in the Meta trial, Mr. Prifti, is also seen in another video taking money from his own deputy.
But despite Mr. Prifti’s character, the question remains: Is former Deputy Prime Minister Meta guilty? If this saga were a mafia trial, it would be very easy to substitute key characters for Mr. Meta, Mr. Prifti and Mr. Meta’s lawyer, Spartak Braho. Yet, while an innocent verdict for mafia characters is cause for celebration in those circles, when it comes to politicians, the story is very different. Even an innocent verdict coming out of a trial that the public at large perceives as unfair or as corrupt will do as much damage to a politician’s career as a guilty verdict. So the important thing is that the court decision on Monday will serve as a test on how the public sees the justice system in Albania. Will the court ruling inspire trust or more cynicism? We will all know soon.
