Besa Shahini mysteriously left the 'Rama' government, running for mayor of Pristina

Former Minister of Education in Albania, Besa Shahini, has announced her candidacy for mayor of Pristina. 

He announced the news through a video on Facebook, where he says that Pristina needs a "radical change in the direction of development", which is why he will run in the local elections being held this year.

''4 years ago I returned to live in Pristina from Tirana, a city that I love dearly, that has extraordinary potential that has taken a wrong turn in its development. Pristina needs a radical change in the direction of development. I want to be part of this change, so in the fall I will run for mayor in the 2025 local elections. I invite you to join me, all of you who share my concerns for the city and who have even a little energy to get involved in our joint effort for change, '' says Shahini. 

But why is Besa Shahini remembered in the Rama government?

Shahini was appointed as Minister of Education and Sports in Albania at the end of December 2018, when Edi Rama was forced to dismiss Lindita Nikolla from that post following student protests.

Just as he came to head the Ministry, he left in September 2020 in a completely mysterious manner.

A short time later, on a television show, she justified her departure from this position for family reasons.

At the time, political analysts emphasized that the motives for her sudden departure were unrelated to the official version that she was leaving for marital reasons.

"Sources from the Socialist Party indicate that she remained a foreign body in this party: "She is leaving in the same way as she was catapulted", one of them told Lapsi.al. She did not listen to anyone about appointments in the education structures in the hot electoral areas, she remained like a UFO among the rilindas, she did not respond to the needs that the party had for education, are the most numerous remarks against her in the pink headquarters.
"We cannot keep among us a minister who does not have the phone numbers of Gramoz Ruçi and Taulant Balla saved in her mobile phone" a source from the PS told Lapsi.al.
Even in the prime minister's headquarters, the voices of dissatisfaction are strong, especially after Shahin's refusal to implement the guidelines of the all-powerful Engjëll Agaçi.
But, it is learned that the tipping point was a retort with Rama at the government meeting. While with his stale style, the prime minister had ironically teased Besa, the latter replied: "Mr. Prime Minister, you are not here to stigmatize us, if you have any vision for the problem we are discussing, you can tell us," says an article by Lapsi.al shortly after Shahini's departure. 

Besa has been prominent in not fully realizing the demands of the students, whose protest was brutally suppressed through corrupt, divisive, blackmailing and threatening mechanisms of power. Not only that, but it has also helped to worsen the representation of students in the elections, which was also one of their main demands.  

But Besa has also excelled with such unprecedented acts as the decision to dismiss the former rector of Tirana. The decision could not be implemented, but her courage to dismiss the head of an independent institution, who, moreover, is elected by vote (at a time when Besa herself came to office by appointment) was something that did not go unnoticed.