Time for a New Agreement

Finally, the government and opposition reached an agreement that ended the two month old political crisis on electoral reform. Although this crisis was not new, its intensity was surprising and entirely absurd in the manner it blocked the political process in Albania. Once again, the fragility of the political system was out in the open for all to see.
Once again, political parties showed their lack of will to go to consensus before reaching the edge of the abyss. While everyone is relieved that finally consensus was reached, question marks remain about the future of the democratic political system “as is” in the country and the will of political parties to respect the rules that they themselves have decided upon.
The solution to the latest crisis demonstrated also the high level of dependency on the international actors in Tirana. While the President of the Republic deserves a great deal of credit for the agreement, his efforts were supported by representatives of international institutions who also played a crucial role in the steps that lead to the agreement.
Their efforts were buttressed by the efforts of the European Commission in Brussels, the US State Department, while the OSCE chair sent a representative to work for that purpose in Tirana. Luckily, the crisis did not deteriorate to the point where the EU foreign policy tsar, Solana had to send a special representative. Nevertheless, Solana was scathing in his public remarks about the crisis after it was solved.
At a time when the attention of the international community is focused on building consensus for Kosova’s final status, Albania’s capriciousness helped neither this country nor Kosova.
In an international conference organized last week by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy on the Balkans’ European perspective, the only comment of Italy’s Foreign Minister on Albania was a single sentence on the political crisis surrounding the date of the local elections. In the meantime, in the last two months a number of projects by international investors including a large energy project from an Italian company were either frozen or abandoned at a time when the country can afford it the least.
But, is peace finally here? The ambassador of a western country that postponed presenting his credentials in Tirana for the last two months may have already bought his ticket to Tirana. But, it is difficult to believe that Albania is now entering an era of basic consensus that will stimulate the country’s development. For that, we need a grand agreement between the main actors. That is the main challenge facing the country’s political leadership. Such an agreement could constitute the much sought after break with the country’s endless transition to democracy.