Sali Berisha has announced a national protest outside Parliament on Thursday, while at the same time attempting to politically separate the Democratic Party’s role from the citizens’ rally taking place in Tirana. His message comes at a time when the opposition is seeking to capitalize on local dissatisfaction, but without publicly taking on the burden of leading every protest on the ground.
Distancing himself from leading the protest in Tirana
At a meeting in Lezhë, the PD leader responded regarding the protesters in the capital and said that his political force did not call the rally in Tirana and is not taking its lead.
According to Berisha’s statements, the PD supports the protest and aims to avoid its division or manipulation, but without presenting itself as its formal organizer. This approach appears to be an attempt to stay close to public discontent without politically burdening the protest entirely with the party’s stamp.
Call for a national gathering at Parliament
Berisha announced that on Thursday, at 10:00, a separate national protest has been called outside Parliament, which he described as a citizens’ protest.
According to his version, citizens with different political beliefs are expected to take part in this gathering, with a focus on defending rights that he linked to local governance.
The opposition seeks to frame the revolt as broader than the PD
In his remarks, Berisha argued that similar protests are emerging in several municipalities and that they are being attended not only by Democrats, but also by citizens with other political leanings, including Socialists.
This is a political framing intended to present the dissatisfaction as extending beyond the opposition electorate. However, the statement remains at the political level and is not accompanied by other verifiable elements at this stage.
Accusations against Rama’s reform
Berisha also attacked Edi Rama’s reform, which he described as anti-citizen and anti-Albanian.
With this rhetoric, the opposition is linking the protest not only to current developments, but also to a broader objection to the way in which, according to it, the representation and functioning of local government have been undermined.
The call for a protest outside Parliament takes the political confrontation to another level, as the opposition tries to stay between two lines: strong support for the citizens’ revolt and caution not to be perceived as its sole owner.
It remains to be seen whether turnout will justify the claim of a civic mobilization beyond party lines, or whether the gathering will be read simply as another opposition show of force.