In the Socialist Party, even where you sit at parliamentary group meetings seems to have its own political significance. And if there's one unwritten rule that's becoming increasingly apparent, it's this: whoever deviates from the line ends up at the end of the line.
After the episode with Elisa Spiropali, this time it's Erion Braçe's turn.
At today's meeting of the Socialist Parliamentary Group, footage published by the Prime Minister's press office shows that the socialist MP was seated in the corner of the hall, at the end of the row of MPs. A detail that may seem insignificant at first glance, but which in reality often reflects the relationships and tensions within the group.
For several weeks now, Braçe has been increasing his critical tone in his public statements. The socialist MP has not hidden his ambition to run for mayor of Tirana in the local elections expected to be held next spring and, in an attempt to build a more distinct profile from his party colleagues, has articulated criticism of both state institutions and the way the Socialist Party itself functions.
But it seems that this "independent" profile has not been received with much enthusiasm by Prime Minister Edi Rama. And the signal, this time, has not come through a political declaration, but through a small symbolic detail: the position in the hall.
In the published footage, Braçe appears sitting in the corner, next to MPs Ilir Pëndavinj and Asfloral Haxhiu, away from the central table where the group's main figures usually sit.
The irony is that a similar scene was seen a short while ago with Elisa Spiropali. The socialist MP, who had had a direct clash with Rama – who even publicly addressed her with the words “you don’t speak in my presence” – was seen at one of the group’s meetings sitting at the end of the row.
This was then interpreted as a form of symbolic "punishment" for her absence from the plenary session where Belinda Balluku's immunity was voted on.
At today's meeting, however, Spiropali was back across the table from the prime minister, a move that appears to be a return to the front row of the group's hierarchy.
Braçe, meanwhile, seems to have temporarily taken her place at the back of the hall.
In politics, it's often the small details that tell the biggest stories. And in the SP parliamentary group meetings, it seems that distance from the prime minister's desk is becoming a new measure of political discipline.
