{"id":348,"date":"2026-10-15T17:12:51","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T17:12:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/?p=348"},"modified":"2026-10-15T17:13:32","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T17:13:32","slug":"ramas-failure-to-reflect-risks-deepening-albanias-political-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/?p=348","title":{"rendered":"Rama\u2019s Failure to Reflect Risks Deepening Albania\u2019s Political Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Prime Minister has ruled out resignation as an option, while political analysts argue that a political solution is urgently needed to prevent a further escalation of tensions.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BIRN – Blerina Gjoka <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the early hours of Thursday morning, the streets of Tirana were flooded with young protesters, including university and high school students who boycotted classes to demonstrate against the government. They were joined by high school students from the city of Kamza, while the wave of unrest spread to several other cities across Albania.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Demonstrators clashed with police forces attempting to disperse the crowds using tear gas and batons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Images of confrontations between young protesters and police officers, as well as acts of violence against public buildings and private businesses, circulated widely in the media and on social networks from several locations in Tirana and cities including Shkodra, Durr\u00ebs, and Kor\u00e7a.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The protesters\u2019 central demand is the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama. Young demonstrators have also voiced demands for better education, improved living conditions, and greater employment opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Prime Minister Edi Rama and his government have offered neither a concrete solution nor any measures to resolve the crisis gripping the country, following the escalation of four months of peaceful demonstrations into violent unrest over the past three days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Prime Minister\u2019s Office did not respond to BIRN\u2019s inquiry about whether Rama had considered resigning as a means of resolving the crisis. However, in a statement to Reuters, he explicitly ruled out resignation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy responsibility is to listen, address legitimate concerns, and keep Albania moving forward. Any other alternative would be a betrayal of the Albanians who gave me a strong mandate to complete the negotiations for membership in the European Union,\u201d Rama told Reuters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier, in a video recorded on Wednesday inside a fire-damaged building near the Prime Minister\u2019s Office, Rama blamed the opposition for the violence and warned that those responsible for attacks on public institutions would face legal consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Political analysts argue that the escalation of protests has created a crisis that requires a political solution. They warn that the Prime Minister\u2019s failure to acknowledge the underlying causes of the unrest could deepen the crisis and potentially lead to civil confrontation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a public statement, the Political Dialogue Forum, an initiative established by a group of intellectuals, experts, and public figures, called for a political solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe government continues to respond to the crisis by ignoring its underlying causes and producing propaganda that no one believes anymore. This propaganda is directing attention toward the secondary consequences of the revolt rather than its root causes,\u201d the Forum stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expressing solidarity with the demands of students and citizens, the Forum proposed the establishment of a caretaker government with a limited mandate to prepare free and fair elections and continue the European integration process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also called for electoral reform, including the adoption of a new electoral code reflecting the representative needs of Albanian citizens, and early parliamentary elections before the end of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA new system must free the state from the party and free the economy from politics,\u201d the statement concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the Forum\u2019s founders, political science lecturer Ermal Hasimja, told BIRN that the current crisis \u201ccan only have a political solution,\u201d implying that the Prime Minister should resign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt cannot be resolved with police officers or public relations tricks, which Rama always attempts to use to avoid confronting crises,\u201d Hasimja said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNaturally, Rama will not agree to resign, and consequently the crisis will deepen,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Hasimja, even if Rama succeeds in calming the current protests, another wave of unrest is likely to emerge before long because the fundamental causes of public dissatisfaction remain unresolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Political analyst Andri Nurellari shares a similar assessment. He argues that treating the protests exclusively as a public order issue and resorting to excessive police force could intensify tensions, radicalize young people, and broaden public dissatisfaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can disperse a protest with tear gas, but you cannot eliminate the problem that caused it with tear gas,\u201d Nurellari told BIRN.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He described the situation as fundamentally \u201ca political crisis, a crisis of trust, and a crisis of representation,\u201d which therefore requires \u201ca political solution and the government taking responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nurellari proposed three concrete steps for the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, de-escalation and restraint by all parties, avoiding violence, respecting private property, ensuring proportionality in police interventions, and establishing individual accountability for incidents without resorting to collective punishment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, the government must assume political responsibility by investigating abuses, listening to protesters\u2019 demands, and providing concrete responses to public grievances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Third, the authorities should open the way for a political and institutional solution through dialogue, accountability, and democratic mechanisms capable of restoring public trust and legitimacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe longer the political response is delayed, the greater the risk that the crisis will deepen, young people will become radicalized, and the revolt will spread,\u201d Nurellari warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Journalist Armand Shkullaku also believes there is only one solution: the resignation of the Prime Minister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Rama refuses to step down, Shkullaku warns, \u201cthe country will face even more serious consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf Rama\u2019s resignation today would bring this chapter to a close with several burned buildings and a number of injured civilians, clinging to power at any cost could push the country into a social conflict,\u201d he told BIRN.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regarding other actors who could influence the resolution of the crisis, Shkullaku argued that the media, businesses, civil society, and international partners should not focus exclusively on condemning violence but should also address the underlying causes that produced the crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA Country Held Hostage\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Since coming to power in 2013, Edi Rama has fostered what critics describe as a \u201ccult of personality\u201d within the Socialist Party and concentrated political power in his own hands as Prime Minister, while other democratic institutions have progressively weakened under his administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The anger expressed during the protests has also been directed primarily at Rama personally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For months, Rama has chosen to ignore protesters\u2019 demands, treating the situation as a communications crisis and relying on propaganda and new communication platforms, including initiatives such as \u201cPrania Besnike\u201d and \u201cPasqyrAlbania.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even after peaceful demonstrations escalated into violent confrontations, rather than engaging in political reflection, Rama continued to blame his political opponents and threaten legal action against those responsible for acts of violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shkullaku remains pessimistic about the possibility of a political solution initiated by the Prime Minister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOf course, Rama may have considered resignation, either now or earlier, when he was mocking the peaceful protests. But for him, it is already too late, and he knows it,\u201d Shkullaku argued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the journalist, this delay is connected to what he describes as the foundations of Rama\u2019s political power, which he alleges have been built on abuse and criminality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKnowing that the end will mean either prison or leaving Albania, he will remain in power until the very end, inflicting yet another catastrophe on the country: civil confrontation,\u201d Shkullaku predicted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He characterized Rama\u2019s behavior as \u201cholding the country hostage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shkullaku further argued that the Prime Minister would not resign because such a democratic act would be inconsistent with his political conduct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA man who has never respected a single democratic rule in his life cannot suddenly become a democrat at the very end,\u201d Shkullaku concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Prime Minister has ruled out resignation as an option, while political analysts argue that a political solution is urgently needed to prevent a further escalation of tensions. BIRN – Blerina Gjoka In the early hours of Thursday morning, the streets of Tirana were flooded with young protesters, including university and high school students who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":349,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"jnews_post_split":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,88,1],"tags":[51,176,177,162,78,175],"class_list":["post-348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","category-top-stories","category-uncategorized","tag-albania","tag-protest","tag-protesters","tag-protests","tag-rama","tag-unrest"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=348"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":351,"href":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348\/revisions\/351"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}