Former Interior Minister Sandër Lleshaj describes citizens’ right to protest as an essential element of democracy and views the latest wave of protests as an important development for the country. In an interview, he criticizes political representation in Albania and the country’s inherited political class.

Lleshaj says the protests have highlighted the need for a profound change to the system and calls for a new law on political parties to be drafted. According to him, Albania’s current model of governance and democratic functioning must be fundamentally overhauled.

The former Socialist minister delivers a direct message to Prime Minister Edi Rama, stressing that resignation should not be seen as a tragedy, but as a decision that can be taken when “the time is ripe.”

Regarding the case of Belinda Balluku, Lleshaj stresses that justice cannot function only if someone decides to surrender or hand over another person.

Mr. Lleshaj, how do you view the wave of citizen protests demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama’s resignation? What do you think has prompted Albanians to take to the streets again?

The protests have brought a new and necessary movement to the country’s public life after a long period of political and social stagnation. Their scale is also demonstrated by the widespread attention they have received internationally.

While in democratic countries parliament is the arena in which political parties operate and the streets belong to citizens who do not feel represented, Albania has experienced the opposite in recent years. Parliamentary parties have protested in the streets, while playing an almost peripheral role in the Assembly.

This time, something normal appears to be happening: citizens are in the streets, while the politicians paid with their taxes no longer seem to have a place there. Moreover, it is unclear where those politicians are today.

Could the situation worsen because the protesters’ demands are not being answered?

Politics must take seriously even the protest of a single citizen. It must show respect toward the people who finance it with their taxes. That respect begins with listening, without commentary and without attempts to downplay what is being demanded.

The attempt to delegitimize protesters by looking for motives other than the fact that they are citizens expressing their dissatisfaction is outdated. Ultimately, the government is also responsible for ensuring the safety of its own citizens’ protests.

It must also protect protests from possible foreign influence or infiltration, about which there has been much speculation but no evidence. Even during the protests and tragic events of 1997, the government of the time readily attributed responsibility to foreign intelligence services, as if it had no obligation to protect the country from them.

Under the present circumstances, there is only one way forward: the protests must be heard, understood and met with understanding.

In your view, should Edi Rama resign to pave the way for a political solution?

If I were still in communication with the prime minister and if he showed a willingness to accept advice, perhaps I would offer it. But time has also brought that communication to an end. For that reason, under present circumstances, all that is left for me is the ethical and professional silence associated with my former political relationship with the prime minister.

Nevertheless, my personal conviction is that resignation is not a tragedy. It can be a kind of blessing that a person experiences when the time is ripe. I experienced that feeling myself in 2020, when I stepped down as interior minister after one of thousands of police officers committed a crime at midnight while on patrol duty.

Every day that has passed since then has only strengthened my conviction that the decision was a blessing.

As a former interior minister, how do you assess the way the state is managing large citizen protests, particularly when there have also been cases of violence against protesters?

Once, during an interview, I was asked how the police would respond if the people attacked polling stations on election day. My answer was that the police would do nothing, because their mission is not to prevent the people from expressing their will, whatever that may be.

That is also my answer today. The police’s mission is to ensure that protests proceed normally. At the same time, they must confront crime and every violation of the law, while always respecting the principles of proportionality and restraint.

I have summarized this approach in what I call the 110 principle. It means that the police should respond to violent actions one step later in time, with one level less force than that used against them, and that the outcome of police intervention must be zero casualties.

That is the entire strategy: 110. The police belong to the citizens before they belong to the state. I regret that I did not have the opportunity to complete an initiative I once considered to change its name from the “State Police” to the “Albanian Police.” A police force that has historically belonged only to the state must increasingly become a police force for the citizens.

The protesters are demanding the transformation of the system, the removal of the old political class and the building of a new Albania that should be led by young people. How do you view this demand?

The protests have highlighted Albania’s most fundamental problem: the complete exhaustion of the political class inherited from the Party of Labour of Albania, in the form of the daughter parties it created at the end of its existence.

This is, in fact, the first and last problem the country must address. But instead of focusing on this issue, the protest has expanded to such a large number of topics and proposals that it has reached the level of cacophony.

Before addressing laws on strategic investments, protected areas, elections and other similar issues, Albania must change the political system that has produced the anomalies of recent decades.

The protest appears to be pursuing many objectives simultaneously, and it is well known what result comes from trying to hit two targets with one stone. Under the legislation developed over three decades, Albania is, de jure and de facto, hostage to political parties—or worse still, hostage to their leaders.

These leaders have the legal right to determine themselves the lists of candidates for whom Albanian citizens must vote. As a result, the Assembly has been filled with people appointed by the leaders of the parliamentary parties.

This situation is more than alarming. If parliament is not protected as the temple of democracy, nothing else can be protected: neither lagoons as the “temple” of flamingos, nor natural resources, nor public property.

If the protest were to bring about one genuine benefit for society, it would be to force the adoption of a new law on political parties. This law must strip them of their exclusive hold over representation and establish legal standards for the democratic election of party leaders, governing bodies and, above all, the candidates that parties field in elections, as happens in the Europe we aspire to join.

As long as Albanian citizens cannot exercise their constitutional right to stand for election and to vote without being dependent on the will of political party leaders, democracy in Albania will remain merely a propaganda slogan.

As for the idea of “power for the young,” I would say that it is a cliché that, although it sounds appealing, can be dangerous. It is similar to the cliché that women are incorruptible.

Young people undoubtedly have the right and the duty to participate in building the country’s future, which is also their own future. But this does not justify any kind of discrimination based on age.

The issue should not be framed as a choice between the departure of the old and the arrival of the young. In the state administration and the private sector, people should be engaged according to their skills and capabilities.

The knowledge and experience of the “old” cannot be excluded merely to make way for the energy of the “young.” Both qualities must be combined to achieve the best result.

Behind slogans promoting the “young” and “women” often lies the risk of their misuse. In certain cases, it is precisely a lack of qualifications and experience that becomes the weak point from which failure and corruption begin.

Have we still not understood that experiments in this regard have embarrassed us at international negotiating tables? In quite a few cases, young officials with polished appearances but insufficient knowledge and experience have made a very poor impression when facing international officials experienced in matters of state.

Have we not understood that the many failures of recent decades also bear the mark of numerous young people promoted solely because of their age, who failed for precisely that reason? Compared with other countries, Albania has an extraordinarily large number of young people in parliament and throughout state offices, but this has not helped the country.

Young people should have every opportunity and avenue to demonstrate their talent and energy. But rapidly placing them in positions that would normally require experience is harmful to everyone.

Perhaps it would be useful to understand the meaning of the English word “senior,” which is used to describe many high-level positions in the economy, public administration and politics.

One of the protesters’ demands is also the formation of a technical government with a one-year mandate. What do you think of this proposal?

This is another element that adds to the protest’s cacophony. A technical government would simply be a waste of time and the best way to bring the protest itself to an end without achieving any result.

Albania needs the fundamental political change I mentioned earlier: a new law on political parties. If that does not happen, a technical government would merely give party leaders the opportunity to catapult the same political kamikazes into the next parliament and create a replica of the current one.

The country does not need another political cycle with new actors, but a fundamental change to the system that produces the Albanian parliament.

The protesters are also demanding that Belinda Balluku’s immunity be lifted and that she be arrested. In your view, why is the justice system not acting against the former deputy prime minister? Is the argument that the Socialist Party is not handing her over convincing?

Justice must not depend on someone’s willingness to hand over a person or to submit to a process. If being handed over or surrendering voluntarily are prerequisites for justice to function, then justice appears to be absent.

Do you think SPAK is applying the same standard to all senior officials? What message would be conveyed by investigating every official against whom there is sufficient evidence or indication of wrongdoing?

I think the public’s expectations of SPAK have turned into a form of great naivety and illusion. SPAK has an obligation to bring before justice those who violate the law, but we cannot expect it to solve the fundamental problems associated with the lack of democratic legitimacy of institutions that rank above SPAK itself.

SPAK cannot give legitimacy or credibility to a discredited parliament. At best, this parliament produces anecdotes and ridiculous stories about the country; at worst, it passes laws that harm the public interest.

Without a dignified parliament elected by Albanians rather than by party leaders, neither SPAK nor the creation of a thousand other bodies would be enough. Things would continue along the same course.

To be continued tomorrow…

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Former Interior Minister Sandër Lleshaj, in an interview with the newspaper “Panorama,” supports citizens’ right to protest and considers the wave of protests an important democratic development for the country.

Lleshaj also sharply criticizes the political class and the way representation has been structured in Albania.

The former Socialist minister sends a direct message to Edi Rama, stressing that resignation is not a drama, but a decision made when “the time is ripe.”

Lleshaj raises serious questions about the functioning of institutions, the role of political parties, and the relationship between citizens and those in power.

He calls for a radical change to the system, demanding a new law on political parties. Lleshaj is critical of the current model of governance and calls for a review of how Albanian democracy functions.

Regarding the “Balluku” case, Sandër Lleshaj sends a strong message to SPAK that justice should not depend on anyone’s will…

Mr. Lleshaj, how do you assess the wave of civic protests calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama? What awakened Albanians this time?

The protests have brought a new and necessary dynamic to the life of the country, after a relatively long period of political and social lethargy. Their broad international resonance is an expression of their magnitude. Unlike the democratic world, Albania in recent years has paradoxically witnessed parliamentary parties protesting in the streets while playing an entirely peripheral role in Parliament. In fact, Parliament is the forum of political parties, while the streets belong to citizens who do not feel represented in Parliament. This time, we are experiencing a normal development. Citizens are in the streets, where it now appears there is no place for politicians who are paid with citizens’ taxes. As for the politicians themselves, no one knows where they are anymore.

Could the failure to address the protesters’ demands escalate the situation?

Politicians should take careful note even of a protest by a single citizen. Politics must demonstrate respect toward the citizens who pay for it. And respect means listening without comment. The attempt to delegitimize those who protest by asking for reasons or motives beyond the fact that they are citizens is anachronistic. Ultimately, the government remains responsible for protecting its citizens’ right to protest. It is also responsible for protecting the protests from foreign influence or infiltration, about which there have been many unsubstantiated insinuations. Even regarding the protests and tragic events of 1997, the government of the time irresponsibly washed its hands of the matter, pointing the finger at foreign services—as if it were not responsible for protecting the country from them. In the current situation, there is only one course of action: the protests must be heard, understood, and treated with empathy.

Do you think Edi Rama should resign to make way for a political solution?

If I had communication with the Prime Minister and he had been willing to receive advice, perhaps I would have given it to him, but time has also brought an end to that communication. Therefore, under these circumstances, I believe that all that is left for me is the ethical and professional silence connected to my former political relationship with the Prime Minister. Personally, I think resignation is not a drama, but a kind of blessing that a person experiences when the time is ripe. I experienced this blessing myself in 2020, when I resigned as Interior Minister because one of the thousands of police officers committed a crime at midnight while on patrol duty. And every day that has passed since then has only strengthened my conviction that the decision was also a blessing.

As a former Interior Minister, how do you view the way the state is currently managing the large civic protests, in which violence against protesters has also occurred?

Once, during an interview, I was asked what the police would do if the people attacked polling stations on election day. My answer was that the police would do nothing in such a situation, because it is not their mission to prevent the people from expressing their will, whatever that will may be. That is my answer today as well. The police’s duty is to ensure that protests proceed properly. At the same time, they have a duty to confront crime and violations of the law at all times, always based on the principles of proportionality and restraint.

I formulated this principle as the 110 principle. This means that the police react one step later in time to violent actions, one level lower in terms of force than the force they face, and that the balance of police engagement should be zero victims. This strategy is that simple: 110. The police belong to the citizens before they belong to the state. I regret that I did not have time to implement an initiative I once had to change its name from the “State Police” to the “Albanian Police.” A police force that has historically belonged only to the state should increasingly take the form of a citizens’ police force.

Protesters are calling for a change to the system, the departure of the old political class, and a new Albania that should be led by young people…

The protests have highlighted a fundamental problem in Albania: the total exhaustion of the political class inherited from the Party of Labour of Albania in the form of the successor parties it created during the twilight of its existence. In reality, this is the first and last problem Albania must address today. But instead of focusing on this issue, the protest has expanded in terms of topics and proposals to the point of cacophony. Before the law on strategic investments, protected areas, elections, and many other issues like these, Albania needs to change the political system that has produced all the anomalies of these decades.

The protest appears to be pursuing many goals simultaneously, and everyone knows what someone who tries to hit two birds with one stone achieves. Under the legislation created over three decades, Albania is de jure and de facto a hostage of political parties—or, even worse, a hostage of party leaders who have the legal right to personally determine the lists of candidates for whom the Albanian people are supposed to vote in vain. This has produced the sad reality of the Albanian Parliament being filled with people appointed by the leaders of parliamentary parties. This situation is more than alarming. Unless Parliament is protected as the temple of democracy, nothing else can be protected—not even lagoons as the “temple” of flamingos, natural resources, or public property.

If the protest could bring any genuine public benefit, it would be by helping impose a new law on political parties, with the aim of removing their exclusive right to representation and establishing legal standards for the democratic election of their leaders and forums, and, above all, of all the candidates these parties put forward in elections, as in the Europe we aspire to join. As long as Albanian citizens do not exercise their constitutional right to be elected and to elect without being dependent on the will of political party leaders, democracy in Albania will remain merely a propaganda term. As for the “power of young people,” I would say that this is a cliché which, as attractive as it sounds, is equally dangerous. It is like the cliché about incorruptible women.

It is indisputable that young people have the right and duty to participate and assume responsibility for building the future of the country, which is their future. But no form of age discrimination can be legitimized in this matter. The issue here is not the removal of older people to make way for the young. In state and private affairs, people are engaged in accordance with their capacities and abilities. The knowledge and experience of the “old” cannot be excluded simply to make way for the energy of the “young.” These qualities must be combined in pursuit of the best outcome. Behind slogans promoting the “young” and “women,” there is always the trap of exploiting them, in cases when the very lack of qualifications and experience becomes the weak point from which failure and corruption begin.

Do we still not understand that our experiments in this field have embarrassed us at international tables, when, on more than a few occasions, young officials who were impeccably groomed in appearance but lacked any knowledge or experience have made an utterly dismal impression in front of international officials seasoned in the affairs of state? Have we still not understood that the many failures of these decades also bear the mark of many young people who were promoted solely because they were young and failed precisely for that reason? Do we truly not know that Albania has an exceptionally large number of young people in Parliament and in all state offices compared with other countries, yet this has not helped? Young people must be given every space and opportunity to demonstrate their talent and energy. But catapulting them into positions that normally belong to those with experience is harmful to everyone. Perhaps it would be useful to understand the meaning of the English term “senior,” which is used to define many high-ranking positions in the economy, administration, and politics.

Protesters are also calling for the creation of a technical government with a one-year mandate. How do you assess this proposal?

This is one of the things that further deepens the cacophony of the protest I mentioned above. A technical government would only be a waste of time and the best way to meaninglessly bring the protest itself to an end. The country needs the radical political change I discussed earlier: a new law on political parties. Without this, a technical government would merely create the conditions for party leaders to catapult the next group of kamikazes into the new Parliament, creating another copy of the one we have. Albania does not need another political cycle with different actors, but a fundamental change to the system that creates its Parliament.

Another demand by the protesters concerns the removal of Belinda Balluku’s immunity and her arrest. Why, in your view, is the justice system not taking action against the former deputy prime minister, and is the claim that the Socialist Party is not turning her in convincing?

Justice should not depend on anyone’s will to turn someone in or be turned in. As long as surrender or self-surrender are prerequisites for justice to function, it appears that justice will be absent.

Do you think SPAK is applying the same standard to all senior officials? What message would the investigation of every official for whom there is sufficient evidence or indication send?

I believe public expectations of SPAK have taken the form of enormous naivety and illusion. SPAK’s duty is to bring people who violate the law before justice, but we can never claim or expect this structure to solve the fundamental problems related to the lack of democratic legitimacy of bodies higher than SPAK itself. SPAK will never be able to lend legitimacy or credibility to a discredited Parliament, from which, at best, the country’s most ridiculous anecdotes and stories emerge, and, at worst, laws that destroy the public interest. Without a dignified Parliament elected by Albanians and not by party leaders, not one SPAK, but even a thousand others, would be created, and things would continue along this course. /Panorama Newspaper

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