Pronouncement of Prime Minister Edi Rama at the end of the plenary session in the Assembly:

 

Those who make these accusations are the same people. They have been doing this since 1 April 2013, and they will continue to do this because the coalition of the Socialist Party with the Socialist Movement for Integration is not at all our problem.

I’ve always said and I will repeat again, that this is about an attempt and the good will on our part to create a space of opportunity for the official opposition, namely the Democratic Party, hoping that it will go back to reasoning, and also to give a chance to the attempt for dialogue which is likely to happen after our insistence and the letter of the Speaker of Parliament addressed to the European Popular Parties, a dialogue that unfortunately we could not have despite all our efforts because we came across the deaf wall of the Democratic Party.

So, don’t worry because, if they decide to go on with this behaviour all the way down, they will be the only ones to be held accountable for it.

Mr Rama, is it likely that on June 18 we will have a competition between political parties, rather than between coalitions, considering that the deadlines have expired?  

You don’t have to worry! Let worry those who have a reason to worry, or those who are looking forward to the DP not to attend the elections, so that they will have a few MPs more. We don’t worry. We’ll do our outmost all the way through in order to have comprehensive elections, and for everybody to have the opportunity to be tried by the Albanians. But, of course, every attempt comes to an end. And of course, the end of all attempts will be the moment of the registration of candidates, of the teams that will compete for June 18.

Mr Rama, the first round for the President took place today…

Thank you, for this is what I wanted to talk about. Today we saw another very meaningful expression of our good will. The numbers for the election of the President of the Republic are in the hall. You know this. However, as we have said before, in order to give the Democratic Party and all those who, along with it, have pinned themselves down in the tent of the fear from justice, all the possible space within the constitutional framework, within the rules of the democratic game, we haven’t presented any candidate because we want to create the opportunity to possibly reach together with the part that is missing in Parliament, a consensus on a figure that will be as representative and comprehensive as possible.

Have you Mr Rama identified the profile of this candidacy, for which the opposition might as well give its consensus in the second, third or fourth round?

I know that my patience has caught you by surprise, but I am much more patient than I might seem to you and to many others, because I believe in patience all through its limits, meaning here the Constitution and the laws. Meanwhile, with regard to the President of the Republic, I repeat that our intention is to restore the dignity of that institution. We want to give that institution the opportunity to be above the parties. We want a figure that can have impartiality, even a relative one, but yet impartiality, rather than a biased figure like the one we have.

Will there be any candidate in the other rounds?

We will wait. We’re not in a hurry. Better have the right president who is accepted by as much people as possible, than a president elected in a room when the opposition that is supposed to come to work, is not there.

Mr Rama, it seems that you have found the candidacy that might please also the interests of the opposition, considering that you are so sure and patient.

Everyone has their own ideas, but our patience stems from our strength. We have never seen our strength as a reason to be arrogant. We have seen our strength as a reason to stand firm, although the ways I and the Speaker of Parliament express ourselves differ. There is no doubt that we have different communication approaches, but in essence it is the same, believe me, it is complementary.

What will your stance be, if the opposition doesn’t come back until the fifth round?

I do never move ahead based on “ifs”, you know that you cannot move on with “ifs”. What I can say is that we will make all our attempts because the Albanians deserve it; perhaps those in the tent don’t. Not perhaps, they don’t deserve it. The Albanians do deserve it, the democrats who voted them to come to work deserve it, and all those who have the right to assess all the offers on June 18 deserve it. So, it is for them that we do this. And of course, for Albania which must absolutely have these elections, so that our friends and international partners will not look suspiciously at our country.

Mr Rama, is the majority ready to offer to the institution of the President of the Republic a candidacy with a name that might not come from the majority, but rather from the opposition?  

You see how the opposition is a concept that is being expanded. The opposition of the new parliament will be much more variegated. And I am convinced, it will be even more challenging than the current opposition which is a micro opponent world in relation to the opposition in a broader sense. We have no bias, and we have set no predetermined limits. We want to give Albania a dignified president who can be above the parties, of course for as much as Albania allows this, as we all live here. We’re not waiting for the President to be delivered to us form the delivery room, but we’re looking for him amongst us. But it is very important to have a new president who, when situations like this one occur, will have at least the authority to call everybody and tell them “let’s discuss what’s going on”, rather than a president who cannot do this because he is biased.

Doesn’t the current President have this authority Mr Rama?

Apparently he doesn’t, given that he doesn’t do this. He doesn’t do this because he doesn’t have it.

Could the new parliament elect a similar president, with this dignity?

Don’t worry. This country will not be left without president not even for a day. We want the president for our country, not for ourselves. If we wanted him for ourselves, today you would be here interviewing the president, not me.

Hence, Mr Rama, June 18 remains an established agenda? 

June 18 is not to be discussed, just as the rigorous implementation of all the rules laid down by the Constitution, by the electoral law, is not to be discussed. But, I repeat, we are in a special political context and we are dealing with a dramatic crisis of the Democratic Party. We are trying to do our utmost to ease the path for the Democratic Party to get out of this crisis. We will do our utmost all the way through. But be convinced that Albania will not remain in either case without parliament, without opposition or without the coalition that is ruling and will continue to rule the country. Be convinced of this!