Arlind Qori, the leader of the Together Movement, is convinced that in the May 11 elections, no party will manage to obtain 71 parliamentary seats. This situation, according to him, opens up several possible scenarios. He tells “Panorama” that one of them is that the party that comes out first starts offers to buy deputies, which has unfortunately become normal in Albania.
According to him, the second scenario is that of a SP-PD co-government, most likely under the guise of a technical government that will supposedly carry out major integration reforms, but, in fact, will dismantle the justice reform. “The third scenario is that of a continuous political crisis, from which the old parties will be rapidly weakened, and the holding of new elections,” he says. This, Arlind Qori says, is the alternative that the Together Movement will take forward in the event of not having a clear majority in the next Parliament.
Mr. Qori, how do you see the pre-election terrain in the country?
I see the pre-election terrain from the perspective of the historical need for change and the readiness of the Together Movement to be the instrument in the hands of the citizens to bring it about. Every day I feel more and more that the Albanian citizens are ready to give up on the old political system. The old parties have exhausted all their potential. Albanian society has surpassed them in all senses of the word. They are shadows of their past. This all-encompassing crisis of the legitimacy of the old political system is the main indicator that the political status quo in Albania will change. On the other hand, I notice that the support for the Together Movement is growing. Every day I meet citizens on the streets of Tirana and other cities in Albania, who show me their support. I have often found this support even where it is difficult to expect: among ordinary civil servants, and even police officers.
What are the expectations of the Together Movement on May 11?
I am confident that the Together Movement will multiply its 2023 electoral result, and I am not just talking about Tirana. We will conduct an intensive campaign everywhere in Albania. We will not leave any community without going with activists. With few means, a large part of the time on buses and urban and interurban lines, with a simple leaflet in hand, we will knock on every door, we will go to every market and neighborhood of our country. Our candidates for deputies, activists with great political potential and professionals from various fields, will proudly seek the vote of the citizens because the Together Movement not only does not have any of the flaws of corrupt politics, but also has ideas to radically change the unjust political, economic and social relations of Albania.
Who specifically does the Together Movement represent?
The BASHKË Movement represents the unrepresented and the misrepresented. Let’s start with the unrepresented, with those for whom no one does anything, nor does anyone speak in a political sense. I’m starting with the workers, the hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens who work and are exploited in the most difficult conditions and for whom no other party in the history of Albanian pluralism has said a single word, let alone acted. We want to represent working people by demanding the improvement and rigorous implementation of the Labor Code. On the other hand, we are the party that has the issue of pensions at the center of attention. The nine protests that we have held in recent months in Tirana with pensioners have shown not only our political seriousness, but also our professional preparation to provide a solution to the pension problem once and for all. The BASHKË Movement also represents the misrepresented, those about whom everyone talks, but no one does anything. Here I am talking about young people, middle-class professionals, small entrepreneurs, farmers, etc. We have a governing program of Albania’s economic recovery, of the fight against state capture and corruption, of building a social state and the rule of law on sound foundations, of fair competition and the evaluation of work and entrepreneurship according to merit. In the next Assembly, the Together Movement will be a powerful defender of the rights and interests of broad social strata.
…And who can approach the Together Movement?
The Together Movement invites every ordinary citizen, every person who has lived, lives and wants to live through their work to join us. It is not for nothing that we have called our movement Together. We strongly believe in the unity of citizens, of those who have in common with each other the fact of being robbed and trampled upon by an irresponsible state and a greedy economic oligarchy, and who demand that our country be included in the currents of political, social and economic modernity.
Will you unite your votes to form a government if the Socialist Party needs the votes of the Joint Movement?
The Together Movement has nothing to do with the SP, the DP or any other corrupt party in Albania. In our view, the SP is a party built on corruption and dirty partnership with the economic oligarchy and organized crime. It is a party that, through scandalous laws such as the one on strategic investors, countless concessions and disgraceful construction permits, has achieved state capture and raised corruption to the highest level in decades. Also, Prime Minister Rama has more than once expressed his contempt for Albanian workers and rights at work, considering our workers lazy and rejoicing in the fact that there are no strong unions in Albania. For these and many other reasons, the Together Movement will never join votes with the SP, neither for the formation of a government nor for anything else.
In what cases can you cooperate with the Democratic Party?
What I said above about the SP also applies to the DP. When it was in charge of governing the country, the DP acted in the same way. It has established a corrupt system, has submitted to the appetites of the oligarchs (even in the opposition there are indicators that show that it is fed by the construction oligarchs, just like the SP) and has generally degraded the state through clientelistic connections. In this sense, in the next Assembly, the deputies of the Joint Movement will not unite their votes with either the SP or the DP to help either of them govern. Our path is the path of justice and authentic representation of the rights of citizens. Thus, we will do everything possible to uproot evil, without staining our hands and conscience with anything and anyone who has contributed to the misery of our country.
You have criticized other parties, but for what reasons?
I strongly believe in truth and honest criticism. If I observe corrupt, degrading or offensive phenomena for the civic conscience, I feel it is my duty to openly express my opinion. Corruption, the capture of the state by oligarchs and in general the unmodern political culture of the mainstream parties in Albania, awaken in me the need to take a stand. For example, I find it offensive to Albanian citizens that every other party, except for the Joint Movement, waits until the last minute to register its list of deputies and hopes until the end to succeed in the market for politicians left without a team. This shows that the other parties, at best, are the embodiment of political cowardice. Albania needs to enter the phase of political modernity. And let me say that the Joint Movement today proudly ranks as the only truly modern political party in Albania.
You are running second on the Tirana list, while the list is headed by the pedagogue Redi Muçi. Why this choice?
Redi Muçi was elected by secret ballot by the members of the Coordination Council of the Together Movement. My choice was not to run first in Tirana. There were several reasons. First of all, I wanted to convey an emancipatory political message: the party should not be in the function of the president, but the president in the function of the party. Second, I thought that the best way to encourage citizens to better recognize the great political capacities that the Together Movement has was not to be the center of attention. Through several recent television appearances, Redi Muçi has shown that he has a high political profile and has the capacity to be an extraordinary deputy in the Albanian Parliament. This also applies to other candidates of the Together Movement.
How do you see the results of the elections on May 11? Do you believe that the Socialist Party will remain in power again or is it time for a political rotation?
I think that no party will manage to get 71 MPs. This situation opens up several possible scenarios. One of them is that the party that comes first starts offers to buy MPs, which has unfortunately become normal in Albania. Of course, they cannot do something like this with the future MPs of the Together Movement. The second scenario is that of a SP-DP co-government, probably under the guise of a technical government that will supposedly carry out major integration reforms, but, in fact, will dismantle the justice reform. The third scenario is that of a continuous political crisis, from which the old parties will be rapidly weakened, and new elections will be held. This is the alternative that the Together Movement will take forward in the event of not having a clear majority in the next Assembly.
What harms the SP on May 11 and what favors the opposition to return to power?
Both of these parties are harmed by their corrupt past or present. What favors them is again corruption, because through it these parties have managed to weave a web of clientelist relationships. Which of them will emerge first, I can neither say, nor do I find it interesting to know. Albania will only be saved if and when these archaic parties will exit the Albanian political scene.”/ Gazeta Panorama
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