The Second Monday Earthquake

By Grigels Muçollari

The second Monday of February has badly shaken political Tirana, or rather the edifice of the renaissance. A strong tectonic movement brought to light, exposed, some features that were being kept hidden by propaganda and violence.

The Democratic Party's campaign manager, the one who was Donald Trump's leader in his spectacular White House victory and at the same time head of the Republican National Committee, arrived in the capital.

Not just his presence alongside Berisha and the DP, but especially what Chris LaCivita said, were enough to cause a deep, almost deathly silence in the government and the majority. And this was clearly seen in yesterday's parliamentary session.

Rlindja and her boss are now without the armor they had secured with dubious lobbying and warm embraces with Alex Soros. They are without the decorations issued by some diplomats, who, as the transparency being carried out in the USA is showing, have been extremely lacking in integrity.

So Edi Rama has fallen victim to the myth of omnipotence, a myth he had created and nurtured through lobbying. Today, he is a prime minister at the end of his third term with a thousand affairs and scandals for which he must account.

And to help Albanians better understand how the office and duties were exercised in 12 years of renaissance, the indictment that was published yesterday, with which the closest man to Edi Rama, second in the hierarchy of interests, importance and budget, Erion Veliaj, was arrested, helped.

Despite years of hiding and covering up, the prosecution has once again found evidence and traces of scandalous abuse. The extent of the abuse of power is before the eyes of citizens, and especially now in the conscience of socialists.

An SP activist who worked tirelessly for Erion Veliaj to become mayor, notes today that as much as he has in his monthly salary, is spent daily by the mayor just on buying clothes and jewelry. Imagine how much the cost of luxury goes to this greedy man's other needs.

In the bank and in the safe, 1 million euros. These are only what has been seized, probably only the tip of the iceberg. Now everyone can make their own comparison between these assets and privileges and the attitudes and public statements of Erion Veliaj. When he talks about poverty, about the homeless, about integrity, when he talks about corruption. When he acted as if he was dedicated, as if he was compassionate.

The millions they found for the mayor came directly from his firms, from permits, licenses, and from the tax revenues of Tirana's citizens.

This is a problem that neither began nor ended with the arrest of Mr. Veliaj, but rather a governance model that has been violently offered to us by Rilindja for 12 years.

Half of the city's population barely makes ends meet. They are in loans, in debt. They can't afford to educate their children properly, they can't afford to pay for tuition. And while these families struggle every day to survive, their mayor spends an average of 18 thousand euros a month on expensive dresses and necklaces.

Why would a resident, a family member, a pensioner, a young person, a professional, a taxi driver, a student, a female head of household, a young person who has just started working, accept such mockery, such a mockery beyond all imagination, like the one that the government makes of them?

The bosses of the Renaissance are now naked before the people with all their oppression. And on May 11, they will go to trial. Great justice will be done by the citizens.

Criminal proceedings come next.