Speech delivered by Prime Minister Rama in today’s parliamentary session:
Hello everyone!
Wishing a good start to the Parliament and especially to all representatives of the “Alliance for European Albania” and without getting into the arguments, which were made at best by previous speakers, on the reasons why we are here to repel the decrees of the President of the Republic, I would like to bring to the attention of the public that, practically, the President did not hit some laws, but he hit three national priorities.
The Justice Reform is a national priority, not a party priority. A national priority that is being designated every day, starting with elections that determined this majority, by thousands of citizens who desperately crash into the doors of a decaying system, as well as by a lot of citizens who stress every day in front of us the necessity to seep this system through a radical operation.
The Administrative and Territorial Reform is a national priority, not a party priority. It is a national priority emerged as a liability politics has had for many years. It is a national priority that no political force can deny as such. A national priority defined by governments as a necessity. Unfortunately, the President of the Republic organizes hearings with local elected of the Democratic Party, because the Parliament has voted the Administrative and Territorial Reform with a majority beyond the ruling majority. Surreal hearings that do not justify even formally the role of the President of the Republic. I am convinced that if he had invited the local elected of the “Alliance for European Albania”, they would have certainly been there to listen.
Another national priority is fight against crime and guaranteeing a standard of normal security for citizens. The Law on State Police was submitted to the Parliament after being processed by representatives of all organizations that assist the State Police and the Ministry of Interior from different countries and EU structures. Well, the President hit also this national priority. I’m sorry to remind you that while he hastened to become part of the attack against the Ministry of Interior and the State Police – implying the government – for the drug aircraft that crashed in Divjakë, I still have not heard him say anything about the super action in Lazarat in support of police forces; neither did he say anything about the super action in Dukagjin in support of police troops, or at least a single word to express his solidarity against those gangsters who had the courage to shoot guns and resist State Police, putting at serious risk the lives of State Police troops.
Of course, we have no time to lose in a debate with the President of the Republic, but these are a few words that needed to be told to the public by being faithful to the commitment that we will not turn this pulpit, nor the government’s pulpit into a trench to shoot clay cannonballs against the President of the Republic, as used to happen in the past. Let’s recall that this country has had governments that have attacked presidents, while today for the first time it has a President who attacks the Government.
On this occasion, let me bring to your attention and to the attention of the public, the recent data processed by the State Police, which make us all feel confident that not only we are on the right track, but that now State Police has a complete control of the territory. Despite this, fight against crime is a never-ending fight. Well, in July – it is worldwide known that July and August are traditionally two very difficult months for enforcers, – we had 61.5% less murders than a year ago; 33.5% less accidents than a year ago; we seized 400% more drug than a year ago. A very important fact for us is that we have received 16,799 phone calls from citizens in all operational stations of the State Police, which were all answered.
After saying all this, of course no one feels good at looking at this half empty room, even though more MPs than all of the “Alliance for European Albania” MPs together are here today. There is a party, the biggest party of opposition that is missing. They think they are missing for a reason, but I believe that the reasons presented for their absence are in fact the reasons that confirm the complete lack of balance of the opposition in relation to the duties towards the public and to its constituents. So, even at this point we are not in the wake of this pulpit tradition from where the prime minister or representative of the majority could say anything came to their mind against the opposition in absentia. There is one certain thing though: there has not been any attempt to silence the opposition, instead there is very clear evidence of the will to give the opposition the opportunity to speak beyond any limit set by the regulation. Actually, yesterday the Chairman of our Parliamentary Group showed me the data of the whole parliamentary activity in this room. The opposition leader here, in this room, has had more than twice the time used by the Prime Minister. However, this can be called an unacceptable fact for this discussion, because the leader is a record holder. It is certain that, in addition to record he calls swimming – which in fact is just bathing in a furrow – he has reached a higher record: the record of destroying all boundaries set not by regulation, but by the rules of coexistence in respecting the timing in Parliament. However, even the opposition, the Democratic Party, cannot go any lower, because we are almost equal as far as the time used in the pulpit is concerned, with a few hours ahead for the Democratic Party, if we consider the number of speakers, we go back to more than twice the time of the leader. So, I think the argument that here they are silenced is completely unfounded.
To conclude, I have been very impressed when I learned something that I did not know. In Germany, there is a law accepted by all MPs, though unwritten, that no one ever in the history of the Federal Republic has violated; the opposition never says any bad words against the Government in the presence of foreigners. Meanwhile, I have happened to meet with foreigners who met the opposition and, in more than one occasion, they were surprised and asked me why they speak on their own about things that only they could see.
However, we are more than willing to welcome the opposition here in this room; more than willing to listen to the opposition thoroughly, despite the regulation, but, of course, we cannot wait for the opposition.
I want to thank all those who began work before the usual time to bring these decrees here today, on September 1st, on the very first day and to convey a very clear message to all: we do not have time to lose; Albania has no time to lose!
Just as the opposition is in its own right to do what it considers reasonable. We cannot but respect its choice, convinced that we cannot babysit the opposition, given that the opposition is not a baby crying from hunger today, but an old man who complaints for being full.
Thank you!
