23 Qershori

June 23rd might seem like just an ordinary day but here in Albania, the whole country is holding its breath for this day.  Its election day and here it means everything.

As PCVs we are not allowed to express our opinions on Albanian politics so I should make it clear that this blog in no way is meant to support one party or candidate over another.  My goal is simply to provide a picture of what politics are like in Albania.

Now to understand Albanian politics you have to meet the big players.  On one side with the Democrats we have Sali Berisha.  He has been Prime Minister since 2005 but he is actually a trained doctor, specializing in cardiology.  From the opposition we have Edi Rama.  He is the leader of the Socialist Party and served as Major of Tirana for 11 years but most importantly he is exceptionally tall (like half giant) and a former painter.

Unlike in America, the two parties don't represent any fundamental ideological differences, they are more like separate groups promoting themselves.  They agree that Albania needs jobs, to end corruptions, to join the EU, to develop infrastructure, etc.  This means that much of the political rhetoric is simply insulting the other party instead of promoting their own plan.

So you might wonder how it is possible to have such a strong political debate when there are so few differences between parties.  Well imagine this, every public job here in Albania is a political appointment.  The school directors, professors, nurses, doctors, police, firemen, street cleaners, every single one.  So this means that in order to rise to the position of a director, you should be a strong supporter of your party.  But this also means that with any change of the party, almost everyone is either fired or demoted to make room for appointments from the winning party.

This creates a rather difficult situation as you can imagine.  It in a way takes away the voters freedom to choose the best candidate regardless of their party.  In America it isn't unheard of to vote Democrat one election and Republican in another but here where party loyalty is tied to your job or the job of a family member, the party comes first.

Election meetings in Gramsh.  Top: PD. Bottom: PS

Last week both Berisha and Rama came to Gramsh to host election rallies.  They were both well attended and naturally the following day in school all the students wanted to talk about was politics.  Since we are required to be apolitical I tried to turn the conversation towards a discussion on democracy.  I asked them as young voters how they had decided who to vote for.  What do they want to see for their country?  In some classes it worked, in others it just turned into a debate on politics.

So now we sit and wait.  Who knows what changes elections will bring to my school or to the people I've come to know here in Gramsh.  But despite the difference between our two democratic systems, it has been inspiring to see so many of my students debating passionately about politics and hearing their aspirations for their country.  I truly believe that one day they'll be able to achieve them.