Edi Rama returned from New York on Sunday, and with him came a now-familiar formula for the prime minister's communication whenever an important collaborator ends up facing justice: responsibility is individual, the government continues.
This time the name is Vlora Hyseni, the former head of SHISH, elected and appointed to head one of the most sensitive institutions of the state, which is now under the security measure of “house arrest”. After six days in the US, Rama chose the “Mother Teresa” airport to give his statement. There were no questions from journalists. The message was broadcast by the Prime Minister’s Office.
The Prime Minister described the measure against the former head of SHISH as "extreme", given the exposure of a key institution, but stressed that it does not interfere with the content of the file and that any suspicion must be investigated to the end. For Hysen himself, the political line was much simpler: justice is hers to deal with.
"When a senior official has opened an account with the justice system, even the former head of SHISH, it is an individual matter between her and the justice system," Rama declared.
It is a formula that Albanians have had the opportunity to hear in different variations whenever justice has reached people connected to the majority. Once again, the prime minister separated individual criminal responsibility from the political responsibility of the government and himself as prime minister.
Even, responding to critics who hold him responsible for the people he chose, Rama ironically said that according to this logic, "the main culprit in every case" should be him.
"A prime minister cannot be judged on the absurd claim that no one associated with him will ever break the law, otherwise the violator is himself," Rama said.
He admitted that Vlora Hyseni had initially worked for him as an advisor and that she was later appointed head of SHISH, emphasizing that he had received “excellent references” for her from partner services. But from the moment the former head of the Intelligence Service entered her confrontation with justice, Rama drew a dividing line: the matter is individual.
And precisely here, to explain the present, the Prime Minister returned once again to the past. Sali Berisha, the way he treated justice when he was in power, the clashes with former Prosecutor General Ina Rama and Gërdec. A political archive that Rama has often used to show the difference between his government and that of his predecessor: then justice was attacked, today, according to him, it is allowed to act even when it affects people close to power.
The comparison is politically understandable. But time has done its job. So many years have passed since Gërdec that today there is an entire generation that was born during the scandals of the Democratic Party's government and is growing up during the scandals of the Socialist Party's government.
For that generation, Gërdeci is a story told by their parents, chronicles and television archives. Vlora Hyseni, AKSHI, Ergys Agasi and the files produced by the justice system today are the current events they see on their phones.
And it is precisely here that the constant return to Berisha begins to lose its former political power. It can serve to compare two different ways of reporting on justice, but it cannot replace the answer to the political responsibility of the present. Because Vlora Hyseni was not appointed by Sali Berisha.
She worked under Edi Rama as an advisor and then was appointed head of one of the most important national security institutions. Rama himself confirmed this on Sunday, explaining that the appointment was also made on the basis of excellent references received from partner services. Now that the former head of SHISH has a score with justice, that score, according to the prime minister, is personal.
Rama also rejected the interpretation that investigations into officials and associates of the majority prove that corruption has permeated the government. According to him, exactly the opposite is happening.
"Corruption is being hit, not growing," declared Rama, presenting the fact that justice affects people with high positions, ministers or government collaborators as evidence of the functioning of the new justice system and the support that the majority has given it.
At this point, the formula becomes almost perfect in its simplicity: when justice affects government people, this proves not the government's problem, but the success of its justice reform. And when the question arises of who elected, promoted, or placed these people in key positions, responsibility immediately reverts to its individual form.
So, from Rinas, after a turbulent week for SHISH, there were no major political surprises. Vlora Hyseni was his choice, had worked with him and was appointed with his assessment to head the secret service. But the account she has today with justice, according to Rama, is hers alone.
Meanwhile, to explain why this should not weigh on the government, Rama continues to have Sali Berisha, Ina Rama, Gërdec and the entire archive of the Albanian transition at his disposal. It's just that a generation has passed in the meantime.
A generation that was born during the time of the DP scandals and is growing up during the time of the SP scandals, while the two parties continue to remind each other of who had the worst past.
And so, with Edi Rama from New York, the familiar, now somewhat boring, way of breaking away from collaborators when their political cost becomes greater than the benefit returned: everyone with their own account, while the prime minister's chair with no one's account.
