New political moves endanger big parties dominance

TIRANA, July 4 – The new political parties or movements seem to attract the attention of considerable number of Albanians and they threaten the ‘reign’ of the two big political parties _ governing Democratic party of Prime Minister Sali Berisha and main opposition Socialist party of Edi Rama _ in post-communist Albania.
The New Democratic Spirit Party of Gazmend Oketa (or as some say of President Bamir Topi who is to lead it after the end of his presidential term later this month), or the FRD, the Red-And-Black Alliance Party of Kreshnik Spahiu, or AK, and recently the Nano Movement for Socialists’ Victory of former leader of the opposition Socialists and Prime Minister Fatos Nano are the last three come-outs in the political arena.
The FRD and the AK have been created with the roots in the governing Democrats as both their leaders and political platform cling more to the center-right direction. That means that they will look for the displeased members of the Democratic Party. There are many such who may join the FRD, that is also likely to try to attract the membership of the former land owners and the political persecuted. That is made clear with the many moves that the party current leaders and the president have done during the last months.
While the AK is trying to attract more the youngsters among such strata of the society and also referring much to the nationalistic ideas which always seem a source of attraction (and concern) in the western Balkans.
While Nano’s recent movement that came out after his personal failure to get to the presidential post last month will try to attract displeased members of the opposition Socialist, especially those not liked or liking its leader Edi Rama.
All the three new groupings have started their political campaign, why not their electoral campaign, with the accusation of the government for its failure to take the country ahead in the European Union integration and the improvement of the people’s life.
They also are more personal, dealing directly with personal attacks on the main leaders of the two big.
That may take some of the grit from the opposition’s success in such a fight as often such smaller political groupings are more direct, transparent and aggressive in their political fight, than the Socialists who always think they will be in power next year and in many issues and times they should be more diplomatic.
All such an early political fight very much focuses on the electoral reform and the smaller parties have always criticized the two big for the reform they made four years ago with the constitutional amendments that gave no positive results, as they expected, in the last two elections.
Post-communist Albania’s more than two decades have shown that such smaller political groupings always grab some membership from the two big and that means, in practice, that neither of them has sufficient parliamentary seats to create the government on their own.
That is the case with the Socialists Movement for Integration of Ilir Meta that has turned into a keymaker for the existence of Berisha’s government, thus grabbing three main cabinet posts and also much of the staff in the local municipalities and communes.
That may be the issue with the FRD and the AK, while Nano’s movement may only take off some ballots from the opposition.
But in the end it will again be clear that the two big are and still remain the big political parties, the decisive and kingmakers.