The speech that aims for the European passport, but not for drinking water

At the start of the campaign for a fourth term, Prime Minister Edi Rama delivered a speech dominated by praise for the government's alleged achievements and several promises for the next four years. A simple analysis of this speech raises questions about the priorities of this campaign and its connection to the reality of citizens.

One thing that stands out from the beginning is that the speech was not designed to address the common and "boring" issues of everyday life, such as drinking water or prices, but to project a broader horizon, that of going beyond the country's borders, perhaps even as a way to avoid discussions within them.

Faktoje decided to analyze the prime minister's speech by identifying the words he used most frequently and those he used least frequently in presenting the program for the 4th term of government.

The words most frequently heard during the nearly 2-hour speech were “European” (65 times) and “Passport” (34 times), which form the core of the Socialists’ new political slogan. This vision of European integration was presented as the next historic success expected to be finalized in the fourth mandate.

This is a temptation for Albanians, ironically also for the possibility of leaving Albania for EU countries, notes political scientist Ermal Hasimja for Faktoje. In addition to this, "Albania 2023 in the EU" has another electoral calculation, according to him.

Even journalism professor Lufti Dervishi sees the "European passport" as a propaganda element, despite accountable communication that belongs to an electoral program.

“ The excessive use of words like 'Europeans', 'passport', or 'fourth mandate' is not aimed at informing citizens, but at the emotional and political mobilization of the electorate. ” Lutfi Dervishi, lecturer.

Equally prominent was the phrase “when we took office” (29 times), a reminder that returning to the time before 2013 is still part of the electoral manual. Immediately after it, derogatory language appears. The prime minister used the term “swamp” 20 times in the speech.

However, words that affect the daily lives of citizens and the basic standards of being truly European, such as "water" (once), "prices", "food security", or "subsidies" and "farmer" were mentioned very little or not at all.

This, according to Dervishi, is an indicator of neglect towards the country's essential long-term development policies.

Ermal Hasimja sees the results of the previous 3 governments as an obstacle to the government's concrete promises.

"I cannot make concrete promises about a good part of the basic living conditions such as water, health or education, because it would be a repetition of unfulfilled promises," argues Ermal Hasimja.

For the citizen, this speech is not a manual for the next four years, but a marketing brochure for a product still in development, or as journalist Lutfi Dervishi called it, “a reflection of what the electorate wants to hear more than a real reflection on the problems that require solutions.” Faktoje.al