Politics in a lull this week

TIRANA, Nov. 23 – Politics didn’t say much this week. Luckily!
Politics this week was generally focusing on economy with both sides showing how better Albanians will be under them.
From one side the government continues to mention its investment in infrastructure and other areas of economy insisting that the country is progressing steadily despite the global financial crisis in the world, and especially those at its neighbors and two main EU allies _ Greece and Italy.
But the opposition Socialist Party on the other side warns that such a false optimism will be very hard to cope with in the future. They accuse the government of presenting a false growth in economy.
Besides smaller political parties convened to call on the two big ones to really try and reform the electoral code and not avoid them, as they did with the partial proportional electoral system they passed more than two years ago and which has shown it is a cause of concern causing problematic issues in the country since then.
Last week the government and the opposition agreed to work together on electoral reform after a lengthy dispute over alleged fraud had stalled the country’s drive to join the European Union.
The last two years have been a political ever-fighting time with the opposition Socialist Party accusing the Democratic Party of Prime Minister Sali Berisha of manipulating votes.
There has been strong pressure from the EU and the United States that the two main political parties should sit down and resolve their political disputes and not let the country fail in its integration bid into the European bloc.
The two parties agreed to work together on an electoral reform and also agreed that major laws, which require cross-party consensus, could be passed by a three-fifths majority that cannot be achieved without the opposition’s participation at the voting in Parliament.
“These developments … constitute decisive steps towards the normalization of political relations in the country and are expected to mark the end of the political stalemate,” the EU’s Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele said.
Albania had been rejected twice for the status of EU candidate, which requires there to be a functioning democracy and the political stalemate was repeated in October to be again the main cause of that.
“These are important elements of Albania’s renewed efforts to move ahead on key reforms and to fulfill the twelve key priorities set out in the 2010 Commission Opinion on the country’s EU membership application,” Fuele added. He strongly encouraged the ruling majority and opposition to build on these positive developments, fully restoring and sustaining a constructive political dialogue, to allow the proper functioning of key democratic institutions, notably the parliament, and to achieve consensual electoral reform results in line with OSCE-ODIHR and Venice Commission recommendations.
The U.S. Embassy also welcomed Albanian Assembly′s initial steps in addressing the crucial reforms recommended by the EU and OSCE, especially the creation of an ad-hoc commission on electoral reform as well as the approval of two laws requiring a qualified majority, according to a press release issued by this embassy. The U.S. Embassy encouraged all political leaders to continue to work together to maintain this positive impetus.
Head of the OSCE Presence in Albania Ambassador Eugen Wollfarth welcomed the move saying that, “Albania has chosen to take a constructive path forward. ŠIt is an encouraging beginning. Now it is important that all political sides continue working in true partnership to make real and substantive progress in furthering the electoral reform and the wider reform agenda.”
The small political parties supported the idea of a total national proportional electoral system, different from the regional ones existing now, as that would make it clear to Albanians too the numbers they have all around the country.
The opposition Socialists also supported that idea but what it will be in the end is very much up to what the Socialists and the Democrats decide together.