Throughout human history, building strong institutions capable of surviving an individual's problems, such as death, incapacity for work, or suspension by court order for violating the laws, has been the key to governance - as distinct from "government." But there are some legal analysts and propagandists who are trying these days to convince us that this is not the case.
By George Erebara
Six years ago, annoyed by the political activity of Ilir Meta, the person they themselves had elected President of the Republic, the socialist majority initiated an impeachment procedure in parliament against him, arguing that he had violated the constitution.
Meta was not accused in that case of massively manipulating public procurements worth hundreds of millions of euros, as in the case of Minister Belinda Balluku today, nor was he accused of corruption and money laundering, like Mayor Erion Veliaj.
If Meta had done anything from the position of president, it was this: he inflated certificates and medals, distributing them in bulk. And, yes, as a politician, he tried to survive by waging political war, although the position of the presidency, at this time, had also been stripped of the only real power, that of appointing and promoting prosecutors and judges, making Meta's political war effectively futile.
The Constitutional Court rejected the claims of the Socialists, considering their arguments as not valid to dismiss a president, but this does not matter. What matters is the fact that, according to the Edi Rama of 2026, not only could Meta not be dismissed, but he is, essentially, due to the position and not because of the person, irremovable. Because, if he is dismissed, the institution of the president is paralyzed, the country's governance is suspended and the country enters collapse.
At least this is the argument given indirectly by the pro-government media as a proposal that Edi Rama has for the Albanian Parliament. According to the published news, he aims to protect himself, that is, the Prime Minister, the ministers, the president and the governor of the Bank of Albania from the security measure Suspension from Duty, because, supposedly, the person and the institution are one, the suspension of the person brings suspension of the institution, the suspension of the institution brings neither more nor less, suspension of the government, the suspension of the government brings an unimaginable catastrophe for the entire society.
If you are looking for greater legal nonsense, look no further. And if you are looking for unimaginable logical absurdity, visit one of the many pro-government portals, which these days are circulating the same stale statements from the greatest philosophers of governance that the country has known since it became a state: philosophers who say, in essence, that a minister can break the law, but he cannot be suspended from office. Add to this the portals that have raised global conspiracy theories and attacked a member of the Constitutional Court with the most unimaginable language possible, with insinuations of pressure and blackmail by prosecutors, or by embassies, in other words, the usual nonsense that we encounter on global conspiracy portals.
In the military world, there is the concept of the flag bearer. If he is killed in battle, a second designated person takes over. If he also falls, a third person follows. The company flag bearer's turn is undetermined until the last soldier.
It is easy to imagine that seizing the debate on the powers of the three pillars of the country's governance, the legislative, the executive and the judiciary, is beneficial to the socialist majority, which is clearly blowing up the Rule of Law in the country by rejecting the prosecution's request to lift immunity from arrest of Minister Balluku and, most likely, closing the window that the great geopolitical turmoil of our time opened for Albania to enter the European Union, a historic destiny that may never come again. In this context, socialist deputies must choose between Albania and the party and they would do well to choose the former.
As for information, the institution is irreplaceable. The person is replaceable. This is for the simple reason that an official does not necessarily fall as a result of security measures ordered by the court, but can, in any case, fall ill, go into a crisis, give up because he is no longer interested in performing that function or, far from it, die.
In the event that one of these things occurs, there are a large number of options, some provided for in the Constitution, others created by practice, to replace the official who is objectively unable to perform his or her duties.
For example, if Meta had indeed violated the constitution when Rama wanted to dismiss him, the post of president would not remain vacant for even a single moment. According to Article 91 of the Constitution, the Speaker of the Assembly replaces him from the moment the president is unable to exercise his duties, whether for health reasons or because the court has judged that he has violated the laws of the country.
While in the case of the Bank of Albania, this institution has an existing regulation which has served to manage several crises in which the institution has gone through, without the need for the governor to become untouchable, unpunishable and unsuspicious by the court. According to this regulation, when the governor of the Bank of Albania is absent or is unable to perform his duties for any reason, the first deputy governor performs the duties of the governor. If he is also unable, the duties are performed by the second deputy governor. If he is also unable, the duties are performed by the director with the longest experience as a director in the institution.
The Council of Ministers is of course an institution where rules have never been developed for normal governance and where political power and the exercise of political power outside the normal rules of governance have been the essence. The rules have been peripheral things. For example, the country does not have a law on central government institutions and this has enabled Rama and his predecessors in the post of prime minister to play lego, merging and merging ministries, governing sometimes with one deputy prime minister and sometimes with two.
Despite this, to argue that the prime minister, like the minister or the president, is "irreplaceable", is to assume that he is also irreplaceable and that, if he is away, dies, we will have to change the laws of the world and order his return to life because otherwise, our government is suspended. /BIRN/
