On Wednesday, from the Parliament podium, Belinda Balluku, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, challenged the opposition and the judiciary, calling the criminal charges brought against her "mud" and "lies."
But while Balluku attacked the opposition from the podium, accusing them of being enraged by her “political” success, a judge of the Special Court against Corruption and Organized Crime was considering a request from SPAK to suspend her from state duties.
Judge Erjon Çela's decision, leaked to the media on Thursday, also prohibits Balluk from leaving the territory of Albania, blocking his passport.
Two weeks ago, SPAK took Deputy Prime Minister Balluku to task for "violation of equality in tenders"; while the revelation of her conversations with subordinates shows how she has controlled every step of the procurement procedure worth 18.9 billion lek for the Llogara tunnel and predetermined the winner, in violation of the standard tender criteria.
Despite opposition demands for her resignation, she continued to hold her position with the blessing and support of Prime Minister Edi Rama.
The Special Court's decision to suspend Balluk was applauded on Thursday by the opposition, which demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama and holding him politically accountable for the corruption scandals that have accompanied his government.
"The immediate dismissal of Belinda Balluku and the resignation of Edi Rama are the only way to free Albania from the corrupt governing system that has been built over these 12 years," Gazment Bardhi, chairman of the Democratic Party parliamentary group, said in a public statement.
He praised the court's decision as "a good day for the fight against corruption, for accountability and transparency."
DP MP Jorida Tabaku described it as a unique case in the world that a deputy prime minister is suspended from office by court decision, while blaming Rama for failing to uphold political responsibility.
"This is evidence of a major moral and political crisis that has affected the government for years, where the government is tarnished with scandals and the prime minister avoids his moral and political responsibility," she wrote on Facebook.
Even the youngest parliamentary parties in the opposition welcomed the court's action and demanded the resignation of the prime minister as responsible for his associates who are facing justice.
“A historic moment,” the chairman of the ‘Mundësia’ party, Agron Shehaj, called the court’s decision during a press conference. “A corrupt autocracy that has ruled Albania for 35 years is crumbling,” he added, calling on the prime minister to resign.
The chairman of the Joint Movement, Arlind Qori, also called for Rama's removal and the announcement of early elections.
"We can no longer be governed by those who end up in prison," he said in a video message on Facebook.
Meanwhile, from the DP headquarters, the official position was more ambiguous, seeing the court's decision as influenced by Rama.
"By using justice to get rid of Belinda Balluku, Edi Rama proved once again that a cowardly man does not become brave, even when he is at the top of the power pyramid," said the statement read to the media by MP Klevis Balliu, which, among other things, demanded the resignation of the prime minister as responsible for building a corrupt governing system.
Lack of political responsibility from the Prime Minister
This is the first case in which such a senior government official is indicted by the courts while still in office and then suspended from office by court order.
During the Socialist Party's rule since 2011, several senior officials have been indicted for corruption after leaving their government duties.
On the long list of accused is former Deputy Prime Minister Arben Ahmetaj, who is wanted by the justice system for the incinerator affair, for which former Environment Minister Lefter Koka, former Socialist MP Alqi Bllako and other government officials are currently in prison.
Former Minister of Health, Ilir Beqja, is also in prison, accused of concession contracts in the health sector, while several former and current Socialist Party MPs are under investigation or defendants by the Special Prosecution Office.
In custody, accused of corruption and money laundering, is Erion Veliaj, mayor of Tirana, a close associate of Edi Rama.
Despite the long list of those accused and convicted of corruption among his closest associates, the longest-serving post-communist prime minister has not held himself politically accountable, but has treated the cases as "personal responsibility."
This behavior, according to political experts, shows the lack of a minimum democratic standard.
“In a normal democratic country, the government would have resigned much earlier. But we are not a normal country. We are a country where corruption is not punished, but rewarded with votes, while elections are heavily influenced by vote buying, pressure on the administration and organized crime,” Ermal Hasimja told BIRN.
According to him, as long as Rama continues to be voted in, he will not see it "necessary to bear responsibility as prime minister."
For journalist Lutfi Dervishi, scandals at the highest levels have never produced political upheaval and the question, according to him, "is not whether the government 'can' continue to govern, but whether it intends to learn any lessons."
According to him, so far history has shown the opposite.
Dervishi sees the Special Court's decision as a strong blow to the government, as it "does not affect a peripheral link, but a key figure in the executive branch."
"This development shows a justice system that seeks to affirm its autonomy, but at the same time it also reveals a major gap: the lack of internal filters in the government. Issues are not handled at the administrative and political level, but end up directly at SPAK," he told BIRN.
As for the prime minister, according to Dervishi, "the burden is inevitable."
"Even if the criminal guilt is individual, political responsibility is collective and falls on it. A reflection, a minimum standard of public responsibility, is expected," he emphasizes, adding that the metaphor of "plums and pears" eaten behind one's back is worn out.
Dervishi questions whether the Socialist Party will be able, after 12 years in power, to set a basic standard for when an apology is requested and when a resignation is given. “When are there public accusations? When are there official accusations? Or never?” he quips.
Lack of an opposition strategy and alternative
The Socialist Party won a 4th mandate in the May 11 parliamentary elections, even though Erion Veliaj, one of its key figures and mayor of Tirana, was arrested a few months before the elections.
Although the socialist government was accompanied by successive corruption scandals, the opposition alternative has been shrinking in the electorate, a phenomenon that is attributed to the fact that even its main leaders, former Prime Minister Sali Berisha and former President Ilir Meta, are facing justice on corruption charges.
For political experts, the opposition, in addition to the current demand for Rama's resignation and the call for early elections, must have a clear strategy on how to become a credible alternative for voters.
"The opposition must hurry to increase its credibility as an alternative to Rilindja, because early elections alone would not be enough to come to power," said Hasimja.
According to him, this is necessary in the face of a socialist majority that has shown before, as it did on May 11, that it "is capable of absorbing such blows."
“The balance of power will not change simply because the socialist government is being proven to be corrupt,” he adds.
For Lutfi Dervishi, the opposition has two paths: the first is instinctive and is related to the demand for resignation or early elections.
"Second, a medium-term strategy to rise again, reformat, unite and offer a different model of governance," he says, adding that "the opposition must be ready so that, when the government falls, it does not take over."
In this context, he thinks that the opposition wins by showing that it has a serious offer, more than by celebrating the opponent's failures.
According to him, the opposition also has a communication and coherence problem.
“The distraction among many causes and the attacks or praise of new justice institutions damage its credibility,” says Dervishi. This, according to him, creates a terrain where “even a legitimate cause loses its effect.”/Reporter
