He called them “disgusting beings”, Lutfi Dervishi: The canvasser pokes his nose into the private lives of Albanians, studies their worries and fears and turns them into bargaining chips for a vote!

Through a post published on social media, the well-known analyst Lutfi Dervishi reacted after the debate created by his statement about canvassers, whom he described as “disgusting beings,” clarifying the reasons for this stance.

Dervishi drew a comparison between a gravedigger and a canvasser, arguing that while the former does a difficult and sorrowful job, the latter, according to him, interferes in citizens’ private lives and uses their needs for political interests.

“The canvasser pokes his nose into people’s private lives, collects their personal data, studies their worries, fears and addictions, then turns everything into bargaining chips for a vote. He asks administration employees for lists of family members and relatives, measuring their political loyalty with numbers and not with dignity,” Dervishi wrote.

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Clarification on the “disgusting being”

The Canon of Lekë Dukagjini says there are jobs for which one never says “may you finish the work well.” One of them, known for centuries, is digging graves.

Exactly this tradition came to mind when someone asked me today why I called canvassers “disgusting beings.” In fact, for me, there are only two categories of people who do not deserve that well-wish: the gravedigger and the canvasser.

Some might say the comparison is unfair. The gravedigger performs a necessary job, while the canvasser simply campaigns, like everyone else in politics. But the difference is huge: the grave is opened for what you cannot avoid—death; the canvasser opens the door to humiliation. The former performs a painful rite over the dead. The latter performs a degrading process over the living, treating them as if they were numbers, not people.

The canvasser pokes his nose into people’s private lives, collects their personal data, studies their worries, fears and dependencies, then turns everything into bargaining chips for a vote. He asks administration employees for lists of family members and relatives, measuring their political loyalty with numbers and not with dignity.

And he does this not for ideological conviction or to spread a political philosophy. He does it not out of idealism, but out of narrow personal interest. He does it to secure a public sector job, a career promotion, a tender, an appointment, a favor for himself or for his relatives. This is precisely the greatest degradation: when the dignity of another is sold for your own gain.

There are hard and humble professions that serve society and deserve maximum respect. The gravedigger has earned this respect. The gravedigger is human. The canvasser is a disgusting being.