Erion Brace has publicly articulated a demand that directly affects the way the Socialist Party produces its candidates for local government: according to him, the name for Tirana City Hall should emerge from a race within the party and not from a closed decision-making process at the top.
Brace: Tirana candidate should be chosen through a race
The Socialist MP, invited on the program “Goca dhe Gra,” said he has long called for the Socialist Party to hold an internal race for its candidate in Tirana.
“I have asked for a race to be held within my party and for my party’s candidate to be chosen through competition. I have asked for a race and I will stand by this to the very end,” Brace said.
Political message on how decisions are made in the party
Brace’s statement is also being read as a position on the model for selecting candidates in the major parties, where decisions are often criticized as centralized and lacking real competition.
He presented this as a personal choice and as an obligation to say publicly what he thinks, regardless of whom it may trouble within the party.
Criticism of Tirana: “It is very dirty”
When asked what he would change in the capital, Brace gave a direct answer: cleanliness.
“It is very dirty. Tirana is dirty as we speak,” he said, touching on one of the most persistent complaints about the administration of the city.
Protests and daily life in the capital
Brace also commented on developments that, according to him, are affecting the daily lives of residents in Tirana. He said the situation frightens people, prevents them from moving around normally, and affects work, school and everyday routine.
At the same time, he stressed that, in his view, a distinction should be made between what is violent and the legitimate interests that, according to him, should be reflected by the government and the parliamentary majority.
On Zegjine: “It is far from my profession”
Asked about Zegjine, Brace avoided a direct political or personal comment and framed his answer within the limits of his profession.
“I do not speak about women. I am an economist. Ms. Arta Dade was a lecturer. Meanwhile, the young woman you are asking me about is a lawyer, far from my profession. She is in her first year of her first term in Parliament. I was the same way in my first term,” he said.
Brace’s position puts on the table a clear demand for more internal competition in the Socialist Party, at least for a post with the political weight of Tirana City Hall.
His criticism of the state of the capital was just as direct, shifting the debate from party rhetoric to the concrete problems that affect citizens every day.