The battle within the Socialist Party, instead of being extinguished while the elections come closer, has become tougher. There are two known candidates to succeed Edi Rama, Erjon Veliaj and Saimir Tahiri. They have been rivals well before 2013, but then the race was only to be closer to Rama. Now it has become clear either of them has a personal agenda, fight each-other and recruit assembly members, ministers and powerful individuals. They try to come forth by taking decisions independently from the prime minister, invest in the media for their portrait, leaving Rama exposed. The two national TVs, the one of kiosks and the other of towers, talk against the government, criticize Rama, but quite willingly accept the ready chronicles from the city hall. A few news portals denounce the government and coalition, would say anything against Rama and Meta, but remain Tahiri’s fanatics.

The more the elections come closer, the more the battle becomes evident. It seems like Tahiri and Veliaj are preparing a quick fight on their own. But, they’re not the only ones. Koço Kokëdhima as well, from the other side, has rushed to start the Zgjidhja (The Solution) movement, which will act from within the ranks of the Socialist Party. Meetings with the Socialist base have already started. The characteristics of this movement are the demands that allure the Socialist Party membership, like electing the MP candidates through the principle one member, one vote, etc. Kokëdhima’s ambitions to take the Party leadership are nothing new. Since being appointed as the Commissar of South in the golden times of his rapports with Rama, Koço kicked out even Rama himself. He suggested and started a movement for radical changes in the Socialist Party, asking first to take Gramoz Ruçi’s positions, to enable himself to compete with Rama later. In Vlora’s district, where Rama is the first Deputy, the Party was controlled by Kokëdhima, who alone made all administrative appointments, including the candidature of the new mayor, without consulting Rama.

This dangerous power that Kokëdhima built for himself brought as a consequence Rama’s counteraction.  As a first step, Rama refused Kokëdhima’s candidature for Secretary General post, let his mandate succumb in the Constitutional Court and later kicked him out of his duties in the South.

Today Koço is racing to create a movement with PS, with pretext of returning to the Parliament with support from the Party base, but only a few days ago said he is ready to candidate for the Socialist Party chair. So, it is fair to say there are three candidates racing against Rama for the Socialist Party leadership: Veliaj, who struggles to show himself as the chosen one from Rama himself, as the man who walks in Rama’s every step and will keep his legacy; Tahiri, who tries to represent the Socialist Party’s traditionalist elite, friend of Gramoz Ruçi, Blendi Klosi and other figures known as real socialists. Tahiri is creating the image of someone who cares for the Party; and Kokëdhima, who has directed to the base, trying to impose himself through a revolution, with the solution he has found for the Socialist Party.

The successor candidates are those who know Rama better than anyone. Their hurry is not to be underrated. Rama himself, two years ago, asked the public not to complain about his heavy presdence in the media, promising it would not last long.

What are Rama’s plans? Can he leave by himself? Will he leave with a potential elections loss? In the last year’s without-an-election Congress, he took care to interfere in the Party Statute and change the conditions  that force the chairman to resign. Based on the new Statute, without the obligation to resign in case of elections loss, Rama can leave only if the PS becomes the second party.

Considering this, the three candidates will find it hard to be gifted Rama’s resignation, however they must know something, hence the rush to grab his chair.

/SYRI.net/