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OP-ED

The report that does not describe the elections, but Rama

Politiko 2025-10-23 15:25:54

The report that does not describe the elections, but Rama

Alfred Lela

At noon, when Sali Berisha held his usual press conference, Edi Rama was speaking to the public about the “mountain package”. Meanwhile, the OSCE-ODIHR report on the May 11 elections had been in circulation for an hour and was seeking a place in the media headlines. Rama, like Berisha, had probably had the report in advance. Berisha was waiting for a possible appearance by OSCE-ODIHR representatives, or a press statement. What about Rama?

In public communication, there are two ways to ambush unfavorable material: either you confront it and talk about it yourself, before your opponent does, or you try to change the topic of discussion. An illustration of this is, for example, the American film “Wag the Dog,” where the President’s communications people invent a war with Albania to cover up a domestic scandal.

Edi Rama chose the "mountain package" to hide the great mountain range of the electoral farce, clearly stated in the final OSCE-ODIHR report. A weak finding knowing that there is little interest in such a topic.

Rama chose this path, not to counterattack the report that Berisha was talking about, but to ignore it with a sub-theme. More or less to say: you continue with the chorus, I have my own business; let the dogs bark, the caravan moves forward.

His job.

But the mark that the seal of the universally recognized institution that monitors and certifies the elections, OSCE-ODIHR, will leave on Rama like Hamlet's father's ghost. It will be something that cannot be avoided, neither with anti-Trump jokes nor with arrogance against the prime minister of a smaller country, Montenegro, nor with white sneakers.

Albania, 33 years after separating from the authoritarian state, has produced, under Rama's leadership, precisely that characteristic that distinguishes authoritarian regimes: the party and the state have blurred boundaries, so they are not separate, as befits a democracy.

This is the license plate that Edi Rama and government representatives will carry from now on in meetings, conferences, interviews, and so on.

In meetings with EU representatives, regarding negotiations, Rama will no longer be able to hide behind kneeling or 'dear Edi'. The weight of the rigged elections, the shadow of the farce, will now weigh on talks and negotiations.

The EU can either do as Rama did, ignore the election report, or do its duty and understand that this report is a mine that lies beneath all negotiations.

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