One of the aspects that does not distinguish politicians in Albania, regardless of their political affiliation, is their relationship with responsibility for public statements. The paradox that is often observed is that they criticize their opponent without taking responsibility for what they have said earlier.
One such case is the recent reaction of the head of the Democratic Party Parliamentary Group, Gazment Bardhi. In a Facebook post, he asked Prime Minister Edi Rama to publicly apologize for the statements made in defense of the former director of AKSHI, Mirlinda Karçanaj, whom he had presented as a person who lived in a rented house, while SPAK investigations have revealed that she had considerable assets.
Among other things, Bardhi writes: "Now that SPAK has seized their assets worth 40 million euros and that we know that AKSHI's Linda had houses in several luxury resorts, Edi Rama has the obligation to come out publicly and apologize for her public defense and the deception of Albanians. I know I am asking for the impossible, but this is the minimum European standard, with which Edi Rama has nothing to do," he underlines.
The DP MP's demand for public accountability is in principle fair, and the Prime Minister must be held accountable for his statements and public positions held.
However, at the same time there is a paradox, as Bardhi demands standards from the prime minister, while he himself has not always respected his previous statements. It is enough to recall his statement three years ago, when he stated that if Sali Berisha were to be the leader of the Democratic Party and a candidate for prime minister, he would retire from politics.
"I have said that if Mr. Berisha will be the leader of the Democratic Party and candidate for prime minister, I will no longer run for deputy. I stand by this statement and I have explained this position with the fact that our offer must be credible to the citizens. The precondition is that if Berisha will be at the head of the DP as a candidate for prime minister, I will no longer have a political career within the DP. I will not accept to support Berisha as a candidate for prime minister," Bardhi expressed.
The comparison between Rama's and Bardhi's statements is not related to the specific cases on which they have spoken, but to their public stances and the responsibility to keep their word, which seems to be lacking in both of them.
If the Democratic MP demands that the Prime Minister publicly apologize (which should be done), then the question arises why Bardhi himself did not stick to his previous statements and did not also demand a public reflection.
Therefore, to demand standards from your political opponent, you must first prove that you adhere to them yourself. In this case, the difference between the parties is not great, on the contrary, both politicians belong to the same political culture where public rhetoric often serves the goals of the moment without considering the responsibility that must be held towards citizens.
