SPAK investigation into Balluku, Gjekmarkaj: Charges have become more serious, all scandals lead to the prime minister

Investigations by the Special Structure Against Corruption (SPAK) into senior officials were among the issues discussed during an interview with Democratic Party MP Agron Gjekmarkaj.

Speaking about the case involving former Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku, Gjekmarkaj said it constituted another episode in the series of scandals that, according to him, have engulfed the ruling majority.

The Democratic MP placed primary responsibility for the state of corruption in the country on Prime Minister Edi Rama. According to him, the head of government has established a pyramid-shaped mechanism through which every state institution is controlled.

Gjekmarkaj recalled Rama’s previous statements that responsibility lay not with the individual but with the system. According to the MP, the individual and the system have now merged into one: the system reflects the prime minister’s image, while the prime minister represents the system itself.

He said Balluku faces serious charges and that, when the issue of her immunity reached the Albanian Parliament several months ago, Edi Rama applied a double standard, using sophistry to argue that she was not accused of corruption. Gjekmarkaj added that, to his knowledge, the charges have since increased in number and become more serious.

In this situation, he said SPAK must remain consistent. According to him, there would be no justification if justice were once again obstructed by politics, the government or Edi Rama, should the issue of Balluku’s mandate be raised in the Albanian Parliament. Gjekmarkaj said the matter should be brought forward.

Asked about the prime minister’s role in relation to these investigations, the MP reiterated that the system bears Rama’s image and that Rama, in turn, embodies the system. He compared the situation to an arena where attention and enjoyment are focused on the figures appearing one after another, while the “emperor” remains above and enjoys the spectacle. According to him, the central issue lies precisely with the “emperor.”

Gjekmarkaj said the prime minister bears primary responsibility both for the positive things accomplished by the government, which may be counted as achievements, and, to a far greater extent, for the entire array of negative phenomena affecting daily life. He included in this picture the names mentioned, the corruption scandals, the allegations and the entire system.

The MP also mentioned AKSHI, which he described as another enormous, dark and shameful pit. He argued that all these issues are linked to the prime minister’s name because Rama is the central figure controlling power.

According to Gjekmarkaj, the prime minister has built a system of patronage over society and an internal pyramid-shaped patronage system within the government. He claimed that Rama’s people cannot make even the slightest move without first obtaining his approval.

In conclusion, Gjekmarkaj said the justice system may intervene and resolve a particular episode, but the phenomenon and the problem will continue to exist, bringing other figures to the fore. He repeated the metaphor of the arena, where the public focuses on each new figure while the “emperor” remains above and enjoys the spectacle, stressing that the main problem lies precisely with him.