Today's marathon session in the Assembly, dedicated to the draft budget and fiscal package for 2026, began with tensions and a new choreography of protests from the Democratic Party. The moment Prime Minister Edi Rama took the floor, opposition MPs stood up and turned their backs on the rostrum, accompanying this with verbal reactions and frequent interventions from their seats.
This was an act intended to express opposition to the government's policies and to characterize the draft budget as fraudulent and disconnected from economic reality. The DP MPs continued with comments, retorts and calls, constantly interrupting the head of government's speech.
Rama immediately reacted, as usual with irony, addressing Flamur Noka with the epithet "Loyal Flamur Noka", in allusion to his loyalty to Sali Berisha. He also compared him to Shefqet Peçi, a statement that provoked strong retorts and counter-responses from the opposition.
Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku was also present in the Assembly during the session — the first time she has participated in a plenary session since being declared a defendant by SPAK in the Llogara Tunnel case. Her presence was immediately noticed by the deputies, while the tension between the two political camps continued unabated.
The majority described the DP's action as another performance, while the opposition defended it as its way of denouncing "the government's lies and abuses."
The session is expected to last for hours, with debates, interruptions, and verbal clashes, as the discussion on the 2026 budget is taking place in a heated political and rhetorical atmosphere with expected clashes from both fronts.
