By Desada Metaj
If you believed that Sali Berisha is serious about revolution, today is the perfect day to understand that behind the scenes with Molotov cocktails and the rhetoric about the "narco-state", the heartwarming conversations about European integration and parliamentary consensus continue.
At least this is confirmed by both parties, who last night held heated negotiations for the joint SP-PD resolution. According to parliamentary sources, there was even a very cordial phone call between Gazment Bardhi and Taulant Balla, in the role of chief negotiators of a resolution... which is essentially a piece of paper without any real political or legal value.
The draft that is expected to receive the votes of the SP and DP in the Assembly states, among other things, that the parties commit to "promoting inclusive political and social dialogue to ensure national consensus on European priorities", while the majority pledges to create the conditions for the full participation of the opposition in parliamentary life and to respect its demands in accordance with the Constitution and the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly.
But what value does this resolution really have?
In practice, apart from a declaration of willingness to cooperate and some diplomatic formulations that sound nice on paper, the document does not bring anything concrete. There is no clear change in the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly. There is no real guarantee for the demands that the opposition has declared for months as “red lines”. There is no binding mechanism that changes the majority-opposition ratio in the Parliament.
Practically, the DP seems to have secured some jobs and institutional space for its people, while the SP will receive another "praise sheet" for the climate of cooperation and dialogue with the opposition in reports to Brussels.
In the end, the Molotov revolution ended in corridor negotiations for a resolution that more closely resembles a gluttony than an agreement that changes anything real in Albanian politics.
And perhaps the Bardhi-Balla phone call is more than just a procedural detail. Perhaps it is the first sign of a new rapprochement for cooperation on much more politically heated topics, from justice reform to changes to the Criminal Code.
