The deep disputes and fierce political conflict of the past ten months between the opposition and the governing majority over the parliamentary elections of last year have taken an unexpected, dangerous turn. Twenty-two socialist members of parliament as well as 180 other citizens, supporters of the Socialist Party are on a hunger strike, in front of the Prime Minister’s Office.
As of many months, the socialist opposition is asking for transparency of the electoral process that according to the SP was manipulated. The parliamentary elections of June 28th gave a second mandate to the centre-right premier Sali Berisha, only thank to an alliance with a small party, a former fraction of the SP led by the former socialist premier Ilir Meta. In the meantime, these elections gave the opposition 65 seats in parliament out of a total of 140, thus making it the largest opposition Albania has had during these twenty years of pluralism. However, the Socialists, under the leadership of the Mayor of Tirana, accuse of a manipulated electoral process and have boycotted Parliament for more than six months now. Almost a year after the conduct of the elections the opposition and the ruling majority have failed to construct dialogue and move towards a solution to the crisis.
The lack of will for dialogue and compromise has finally resulted in a radical and dangerous action of the opposition with 22 of its members of parliament and 180 supporters, including women, going on a hunger strike. Politically motivated hunger strikes have in fact accompanied Albania’s hard political and social transition. The hunger strike of Albania’s miners also gave a modest contribution to the toppling of the communist regime in 1991, a particular context of affairs that made a hunger strike well reasoned as a political instrument. There have been other ones too, including that of the former Speaker of Parliament Pjet철Arbnori in 1997, or that of Ilir Meta and the Socialist Movement for Integration, and of representatives of other small parties in 2008.
The return of the hunger strike as a political instrument in the Albania of 2010 marks a big step backwards for the political process in the country; it imprints serious damage upon the country’s image that then in turn damages Albania’s aspirations to obtain candidate status for the EU.
The return of hunger strikes as a form of political action of the opposition in a NATO member state, a state that aspires to become EU member, is senseless, dangerous and of deep consequences.
Unfortunately, Albania’s political elite is putting its short term political interests above the interest and the future of the country. Albania’s political elite has engaged itself in an extreme conflict of power through such an escalation of tension and radicalization of the situation. The hunger strike, a badly timed political act, undermines the political process in the country and, at the same time, it mirrors the lack of will and the incapacity of Albanian parties to solve disagreements through a normal political process.
However, beyond the failure of the political process, the dialogue, and the compromise, what really is at stake in this political act of the opposition?
First of all, the life of the lawmakers and the other supporters in the hunger strike. Furthermore, the hunger strike does not only ruin the political process itself, but it also portends the possibility for the political tension to escalate and it is not unlikely that this potential escalation could become impossible to manage. The bells must toll for both those who can hear and those who cannot.
