Two lawmakers switch sides, but balance remains the same

TIRANA, Oct. 4 – In what appears to be a football trading season, Vangjel Tavo, a Socialist lawmaker, scored Sunday to give a draw to the governing Democrats in the political qualifier ahead of the local elections expected to be held in May next year.
Only a few days ago, Paulin Sterkaj of the Democrats had scored for the opposition Socialists.
It’s not a football match, but it strangely resembles it.
Last week, Sterkaj abandoned the governing Democrats directly blaming the lack of democracy at the Democratic Party and Prime Minister Sali Berisha for being authoritarian in managing the political party. He said he would not be against resuming his membership at the Socialist opposition, something welcomed by Socialist leader Edi Rama who had expelled Sterkaj only a couple of years ago for breaking lines with the party in the presidential vote.
Less than four days later, Vangjel Tavo of the Socialists, in principle, used the same words against his Socialist Party leaders and also said he would be independent.
But if comments started immediately after Sterkaj’s words on the difficulties for Berisha in trying to keep his ranks and allies together, they were dismissed just two days later when Tavo defected.
This week it became very clear that lawmakers may easily become turncoats for the party leaders and that cutting down numbers of the governing Democrats’ can’t be used by the opposition to bring down the government.
Another senior Socialist also threatened to leave, saying Tavo was not the only one who was dissatisfied, so the opposition is itself fragile.