Opposition leader holds first news conference on Twitter, prime minister turns to Facebook
TIRANA, Jan. 8 – When it comes to Albanian politics, social media is now in.
Socialist Party leader Edi Rama started the year with a news conference — on Twitter. Prime Minister Sali Berisha followed by sending messages to thousands of followers — on Facebook.
The main focus of Rama’s words were the June 23 election preparation, the party’s program that will try to convince voters to cast their ballots for them, and also the possible alliances.
Rama appealed to all the other political forces to come and join efforts to take Berisha off the power he has been in the last eight years.
Such a call is directed mainly to the other smaller political parties — the Socialist Movement for Integration of Ilir Meta, the New Democratic Spirit of former President Bamir Topi and the Red-and-Black Alliance of Kreshnik Spahiu.
For the moment it seems that Rama has not convinced any of them to join his coalition.
Though the smaller political parties did not openly say they were against such a coalition, their leaders hinted that the new coalition will be based on the interest of the citizens, very big words but the proper ones ahead of the polls.
Consequently there have been other voices saying that the Socialists can win the political game on their own.
Rama says that the Socialists will give an end to the economic crisis that has engulfed the country, accusing the government of corruption and of lacking the capabilities to lift the country out of the financial crisis.
In fact, the government and Berisha deny the country is in a crisis and insist they will again raise the public wages, a move which the international institutions have also warned it not to do.
The opposition says it will increase the taxes for the richer people while the government says it will keep the flat 10 percent tax that has resulted successful. If considering such a fact alone, one could think that the leftist Socialists belong to the right while the center-right Democrats to the left.
In fact the opposition infrastructure and lawmakers have already started their electoral campaign going daily to their areas. Rama and the Socialists are convinced they will win the June poll and Rama has often declared or spoken as the upcoming prime minister.
The country is in the grip of the harsh political fight again. It will be only a short time when both main political parties will formally declare the start of the electoral campaign.
