In the place where the government protests

Alfred Lela

The protest of municipal employees and government patronage workers on Thursday in front of the Special Court and Prosecutor's Office must be noted as one of the most spectacular cases of political absurdity. Not only because every government, especially the current one in Albania, exercises considerable executive power but also because the same government, regarding the same institution before it was protesting, abruptly changed its language and stance.

Without forgetting here, one thing defining the nature of governments: they do not protest; on the contrary, protests are made against them for the simple fact that when, however formally, you have secured a majority, you leave the instrument of opposition to the minorities.

This moment is the first blatant misuse of power as a concept. But the socialists, these specialists, the late Pjetër Arbnori would say—the evil ones would add others—are not satisfied with exploiting power as a concept. They did this on Thursday, even physically, contradicting themselves. I am talking about the State Police's 'strategic absence' around the protest perimeter, ignoring even a request for assistance—according to the law—from the Guard of the Republic.

The following Friday, the Minister of the Interior, a very charming local Swede, exposed the absurdity of the government, even verbally, when he said there was no protest or danger but only a gathering of sympathizers.

The same minister has been in office in several previous cases when protests or rallies have received a different response. In 2-3 instances, Sali Berisha's supporters have gathered to accompany their leader to his appearances at SPAK or GjKKO. In each case, the police forces have been present and reinforced. If nothing else, they have evoked danger with their presence, even though he may or may not have been present. To clarify this, it must be said that, in no case have there been clashes between the protesters and the police and even less verbal or physical violence against prosecutors and judges. Opposition supporters have gone there, followed and listened to Berisha's public communication, and vice versa. Unlike the government 'sympathizers', they did not ambush justice officials, did not wait for them until they left their offices, did not jump on their cars, or hit them, as happened with the uncorrupted individuals executed on Thursday.

To understand the 'strategic interventions' of the Police somewhat more clearly, recall the grotesque situation a few months ago when Hoxha's Special Forces entered the territory of the Parliament. The intervention of the Guard was required to 'clarify' them of the violation. The police, with excessive zeal, followed a handful of protesters who moved sporadically from the City Hall to the Parliament. The scenes of that day, with special police officers scuffling with opposition MPs in the Parliament garden, belong to the banal imagination.

Let's be clear: the banality is not the fault of the underpaid and mistreated police officers—even ordinary Albanians—but of the government, the ministers, and the prime minister.

There is no better way to culminate the banal than from the gutters that drain the evil of the gentry of power than to the precedent of a government that has infinite power and comes to the parliament to seize the last control in the country: the protest.

This is even more striking, given that protest is an ethical, minority, and counter-balanced category. Rama and Veliaj's patrons, in the encirclement of SPAK and GjKKO, are neither moral nor a minority nor in search of balance.

After having stolen and divided the spoils, the spoils, and the spoils of every public asset, they seek to exploit the last vestige of an asset that, like many others, is not theirs: the right to protest, to assemble, to rebel, to insurrection.

They gain nothing from it, of course. Except, they give the eyes that look on, surprise and contempt for what is ridiculous and appears in a thousand forms.