The Albanian parliamentary delegation is in Berlin for meetings in the Bundestag, but its composition has caused more debate in Tirana than in Germany.
Despite the Democratic Party's claims that the opposition has been excluded from the delegation, the Albanian Parliament has officially clarified that the opposition MPs who are in Berlin – including Jorida Tabaku, Klevis Balliu and Gazment Bardhi – are part of the delegation at the Assembly's expense.
So, while the opposition talks about "exclusion", the parliament's budget seems to have been generous enough to cover their presence.
The MPs have spent the last two days in the corridors of the Bundestag, holding meetings and - as is common in parliamentary diplomacy - taking some photos with German MPs.
The debate was initially sparked by opposition leaders, who complained that the head of the delegation, Niko Peleshi, had only included Redi Muçi and Edmond Haxhinasto as opposition representatives. But it turns out that the delegation's list was broader and that the Assembly's money was not spared even for Tabaku, Balli and Bardhi.
However, the strongest reaction came from a place somewhat further away from the Bundestag: Ilir Meta's cell. The Freedom Party leader described the opposition's exclusion from the delegation as "a shameful act that shows a lack of will for the comprehensive representation of the Albanian Parliament, even more so in these important moments in Germany."
But perhaps the difficult conditions of isolation did not help Meta to accurately follow the delegation list: his deputy Edmond Haxhinasto was part of the Albanian parliamentary delegation in Berlin, along with the chairman Niko Peleshi.
And here the story gets even more interesting. Because it is hard to believe that Meta from his cell has followed the composition of the delegation in Berlin so closely. It seems more like a reaction written somewhere in the political corridors of Tirana, where the old grudges of the Freedom Party – especially those between Tedi Blushi and Edmond Haxhinasto – sometimes find a way to come out in public, even in the form of “denunciations” from prison.
But perhaps the problem is deeper. The Albanian opposition, the Qamar, seems not to have yet learned a simple rule of politics: opposition is not done by complaining at Niko Pelesh's door about seats in the delegation. Opposition is done by inspiring protests and creating political pressure. While in Tirana the chairs in the delegations are being counted, in Berlin photos are being taken. And thus ends another episode of the opposition demanding revolution... but first a place on the travel list.
