The Prime Minister of Albania, Kurumi

Alfred Lela

The statements of Rama's ministers leave you speechless. There lies the snoring slumber of submission, interspersed with a mischievousness camouflaged as naivety, reminiscent of Umberto Eco's distinction between the dumb, the stupid, and the idiot. It doesn't matter if it's Mr. Peleshi, who was supposed to be ' a fine' korçar, Mrs. Kumbaro, who should have been a little enlightened by the books translated, or Ms. Balluku who, even though statesmanship is not required of her (now we have to say stateswoman-ship :-)) must, at least, respect the rules of logic.

This means that, in a country with an established state superstructure, non-anarchy, civil war, or other cases of emergency, the government must know things, set them in motion, stop moving, and so on.

When you hear Rama's ministers saying that their ministry does not have such responsibility, as in the last case, for example, neither the Port, Transport nor the government has supervision over the transport of toxic substances from the ports of Albania, you say to yourself, but who has? Who collects taxes, and for what purpose? Is safety one of those goals? If the state does not control borders, movement, etc., is the government running the state doing the work it is charged with?

The company "Kurum" is the one, say the lady ministers. Oh?!! A citizen of Elbasan or Durrës should come forward and say when they last chose a political entity named "Kurum" on the ballot. It is stupid to say and unacceptable. Companies exercise manufacturing or commercial activity and are subject to the rules and laws of the state. They demand non-discriminatory legislation from the state, fair rules, equal competition, no monopolies, etc. No company makes legislation, votes in elections, or takes or distributes political or governance responsibilities.

These are all qualities of the state, and the government that holds the state's office is responsible for the smooth running of all these. This government should resign when it doesn't know, can't, or won't. Otherwise, the state goes bankrupt, and the state as a concept is permanence, not temporality, so it is there to be, not transitory.

Do you want another case in which the state does not know anything? It is the Thumane-Kashar road. The Rama government, namely Balluku as line minister, has brought the people into conflict with a private company. The latter was asked to build a road with private money, and the company compensated the land owners, built the road, etc. So, it has completed its part of the contract. The way the investment will be returned - not a donation - is a road use tax (toll). Since the construction of the road, after receiving the political benefits and opening it sooner than necessary for electoral purposes, the government has left the costs to the company and the people. The only statement that the government has made since the opening of the road and the start of the protests is that the police, in large numbers, oppose the protesters' right to access the road or a secondary road according to the standards. Balluku's government has left the myth of the state to rot, is demoralizing the people, and makes the latter see a private company, which has poured its own money, not public taxes like the government, as an enemy of the people.

Triple damage, only that the men and women in the government do not dare to own up to their jobs, from which they only want the benefits of power.

They can't let the seeming idiocy go without adding a dose of vileness. To cover their role, they shift the blame to the opposition. For Kurumi (which they cannot control supposedly), it is not the state's fault that they lead, but the Democratic Party MP Mr. Bardhi, who has a director of Kurumi as part of his campaign. This is a miserable sub-variable of the old fable "Sali is to blame." So, the blame for the gases and poisons the government allows to pass through the national security ports, like fondant chocolate, is not with Rama's deputy and Rama, but with Saliu's deputy and Saliu himself!!! They use the same behavior in the case of Thumane Kashar Street: the builder is a Democrat, not ours.

These are not coincidences but philosophies. They don't come from the bangs of the ministers but from the high forehead of Edi Rama. Isn't he the one who says, every time there is a scandal, how could he know what his ministers are doing behind his back, or, 'let them all go to prison, don't be happy, the Socialist Party has 800 thousand people!'. Note: not the state, but the Socialist Party and Him.

I have nothing to say about the Socialists: their brand followed Enver Hoxha for 40 years and gave us the Albania they witnessed in 1991 when the curtain of shame fell and what was on the other side was open for all to see. From a schizo-state, they will transfer to a narco-state.

For those who do not self-classify as socialists, there is much to be said. The most suitable phrase to convey and summarize all that length of text that would connect the threads of this dissolution is: you deserve all this!