On December 23, Sali Berisha sent a sharp message to the Democratic Party structures, sanctioning a new rule for the media representation of the opposition. The decision of the DPA Presidency and the DP Parliamentary Group was clear: DP representatives should not face so-called “independent analysts” in television debates, whom Berisha describes as government proxies and media mercenaries at its service.
The goal, according to Berisha, is to prevent the government from hiding behind analysts to avoid political responsibility for affairs, corruption and scandals.
But just a few weeks after this message, the reality television show seems to have openly challenged the announced decision.
Last night, in one of the main political shows of the week on Syri TV, the chairman of the DP Parliamentary Group, Gazment Bardhi, appeared in the studio in front of a panel of analysts and journalists, including figures that Berisha has publicly described as “replacements” of the government. No representative of the Socialist Party was present in front of him.
At the same time, on Top Channel, DP MP Klevis Balliu was invited to the Grida Duma show, where he also faced only analysts and journalists, without facing any MPs or officials from the majority. A format that directly contradicts the spirit of the message of December 23.
This situation raises a simple but essential question: did Gazment Bardhi and Klevis Balliu break doctor's orders, or did they go to the studio "with Floriana's permission"?
Floriana Garo, director of the Press Office of the Democratic Party, is precisely the authority who, according to Berisha's order, must be notified of every television invitation, to convey the "message of the day" and to filter participation in media considered controlled by the government.
One thing remains clear: the opposition's declared battle against "independent analysts" continues to be more of a rhetorical conflict than a rule respected in practice. And while the DP declares that it will not serve as a mask for the government in the television studios, its main representatives continue to sit opposite those it has labeled as its substitutes. Because, as they say in such cases, each to his own analysts.
