HENRI ȉLI
Besnik Mustafaj, one of the leading figures of the Democratic Party has taken provisional leave of politics with a very modest statement, and the opportunity to revisit this domain for “a new beginning” at another moment in time. One of the founders of the first opposition party at the beginning of the nineties, MP in all legislatures and former Foreign Affairs Minister, it appears that he has resigned from politics. Daily chronicles have moved on from the Mustafaj case not only for objective reasons because everyone awaits the lists bearing the names of the candidates for MP and the places they occupy on those lists, but also because Besnik Mustafaj himself contributed towards making his case, in fact, an anti-case. Mustafaj withdrew without any fuss or bother, without any criticism, in line with standards of Albanian politics. On the road of his retreat he left a window ajar, lacing this gesture with irony, and even how Berisha and the DP had behaved in his case, when he joined the field in the contest for the post of chairperson of the Tirana branch of the DP. But, what makes Besnik Mustafaj a special case in the political developments of these twenty years in Albania, and in particular, in the history of the Democratic Party on the whole?
First of all, because during his withdrawal he never once made the error, that many of his predecessors of the DP did, by slamming the door shut behind them, making a deafening noise, going over to the other side, turning upside down, not just the future, but also the past of their relationship with the Democratic Party. Not for a single moment did he revise his relations with the DP, its electorate, its supporters, with all those players and factors who have seen in the DP, also because of the fact that Mustafaj was a part of this force, a serious party committed to handling the fate of Albania. In this sense, this not only does not estrange Besnik Mustafaj from the DP, but entrenches this individual more profoundly in the conscience of the DP, which surpasses time, moments and leaders.
Secondly, there is a message in the withdrawal of Besnik Mustafaj – rejection of the manner in which Berisha leads the DP and how his colleagues within the DP approve this. Convinced that a broadening of political representation with figures of standing is the best road for the future of the DP; that the increase of the number of “extras” in the party forums, who add absolutely nothing to DP representation, and only consume Berisha’s political capital, which he has a great deal of difficulty in securing himself after 20 years in politics. If the DP finds that it is much better for its interests to operate in this manner, then good for the DP, but history does tend to reveal that the more it has narrowed its representative base and the more it does “cosmetic jobs” with individuals who are worthless and have no public capital, the more it jeopardizes the opportunities of the democrats to come to office. It is possible the profile of Mustafaj may never come in handy again for the Albanian democrats, but if it does, then he is present, preserved as an ongoing representative of this party for 19 years now, with his own, unique and authentic track record and profile.
Thirdly, it seems as though Besnik Mustafaj ridicules the persistence of many individuals, during this somewhat ludicrous period of drafting lists of candidates for MP, to remain in politics at all costs, no matter where they are sent to, no matter how they are pushed and shoved about. By voluntarily withdrawing, by refusing to compete in an unfair and undignified quest for Tirana and a humiliating position on the DP lists, Besnik Mustafaj, if nothing else, refuses to give anyone, including Berisha the satisfaction of treating his personality and standing with unmerited disrespect, something that could be done if you take into account the juridical right the leadership of the DP enjoys today have the final say on the list of candidates for MPs.
For all these reasons, Besnik Mustafaj resembles no other case, not only due to his personal political past, but also due, without doubt, to his even more distinguished future in Albanian politics.
