The National Assembly of the Socialist Party held this Saturday behind closed doors was much more tense than it appeared publicly after its conclusion.
Sources from Vox News inside the meeting indicate that Edi Rama delivered one of his harshest speeches to Socialist MPs and leaders, combining political criticism with a vocabulary that, at certain moments, crossed into direct insults.
The message repeated several times by the prime minister was the same:
“Where were you when Tirana burned?”
According to Vox News sources, Rama accused Socialist MPs of withdrawing at the moment when the government and the Socialist Party found themselves under the greatest political and protest pressure.
“You left me alone, you thought I was finished!”, Rama is reported to have told those present.
He was then even more direct:
“You disappeared because you thought: he’s gone…”
Part of Rama’s anger, according to Vox News sources, also focused on the Socialists’ behavior on social networks.
“You enjoy it when Taulant Balla is insulted on Instagram and Facebook,” he is reported to have said.
“You only have the logo, I have the votes”
The strongest moment of the meeting came when Rama spoke about the protests and the relationship between MPs, the Socialist Party and the electorate.
According to Vox News sources, he told MPs that the protests are not only against him personally, but against the entire Socialist Party.
“They are not protesting against me, but against you. They don’t want the SP!”
Then Rama moved to an even harsher statement about his relationship with the party:
“You only have the logo, I have the votes. I am bigger than the party; without me you are shit!”
Vox News sources describe the hall at this moment as frozen, with very few reactions from those present.
But not everyone was targeted. According to Vox News information, Taulant Balla, Belinda Balluku, Niko Peleshi, Albana Koçiu and Ervin Demo were among the few names Rama used as positive references during the speech.
They were, according to the sources, the only ones who essentially escaped the “storm” of criticism and harsh language directed at the rest of the hall.
Particularly strong was the support for Albana Koçiu.
Rama introduced her with such strong tones that, according to the sources, his statement caused surprise in the hall:
“Albana is the mayor Tirana needs today.”
At the end of the Assembly, the positioning of Albana Koçiu and Ervin Demo in the leadership of the Socialist structures of Tirana was also made public.
Another episode that Vox News learns from inside the meeting concerns the way the Assembly was to be communicated to the public.
Rama asked those present that the internal discussions not leak outside.
“When you leave this meeting, you will not say anything that was discussed here,” Rama is reported to have said.
Rama even set the line that was to be conveyed in the media.
“You will only say that here we started the engines for the municipal elections, that there was talk of the strength of the SP and the path that will take Albania into the European Union.”
And in fact, after the meeting ended, public communication from Socialist leaders focused precisely on party organization and preparations for the local elections.
Another issue that produced tension was that of Elisa Spiropali.
According to Vox News sources, Rama asked that Spiropali no longer take part in Assembly meetings, stating that she could remain a party member but not part of this forum.
“As of today, Elisa will not set foot in any Assembly meeting again. She is only a party member, but never in the Assembly,” was Rama’s message.
But the clash that created one of the strongest moments of the meeting was the one with Pandeli Majko.
Vox News sources say that, after a debate in which Rama addressed Majko in insulting tones, the former Socialist MP stood up.
“I want to say something that none of you has the courage to say, but you all think it: we have lost Tirana. If elections were held today, we would not win!” Majko said.
