DUI cedes ministers, but not departments


After Prime Minister Zoran Zaev announced the reconstruction of the government cabinet, the Albanian opposition consisting of the two wings of the Besa movement (the Skopje and Tetovo branch) and the Alliance for Albanians, are waiting for an official offer. Senior DUI officials brief that at the last meeting of the central committee of the party leader Ali Ahmeti received a green light to sit at the negotiating table with Prime Minister Zaev only, and that the party is in no mood to sit in the same government with parties from the Albanian opposition. However, due to the problem of the slim parliamentary majority and the quorum in the legislature, DUI seems to be knuckling down, and if anyone is to enter the government, then it is likely that Ahmeti will agree Afrim Gashi’s Besa to join in a package with DPA.

Unlike the Alliance leader, Ziyadin Sela, and the first man from the Tetovo wing of Besa, Bilal Kasami, Afrim Gashi, before going abroad, has already met Zaev. From his party for “Independent” they stated that they are vigilantly following the internal political scene and, in the moment they receive an official offer, they are prepared to review it and respond to it in the shortest possible time. If Zaev accepts their demands and principles, the spokesman for this political entity, Orhan Murtezani, says his three MPs are ready to join the parliamentary majority.

“We have repeated our position several times, we are ready to help the parliamentary majority and the government in the process of implementing the reforms. Truth be told, we did not demand that we become part of the Government, nor have we refused to be included in it. This depends mostly on Prime Minister Zaev himself. If he is willing to accept the principles and ideas of the Besa movement, it would not be an issue for us to approach his cabinet. It is true that there was official communication and meeting with SDSM to this end, but because of Gashi’s trip abroad, these meetings were not finalized. The compromise is part of the policy, but we think that a government should be built on principles, because citizens benefit more from a government like than, rather than from a government that would be willing to compromise only for narrow-party interests. We are still ready to contribute to the implementation of the reforms and the integration of Macedonia into NATO and the EU. After returning from our president’s official trip, the public will be acquainted with our further steps when it comes to the government’s cabinet, “Murtezani said.

They reflect the stance by the other wing of this movement, that is, the Tetovo Wing of Besa. Although there is nothing concrete in the field at the moment, however, the spokesman for the “second” Besa, Abdus Demiri, has not denied the opportunity to soon join the government team of Zoran Zaev.

“There is nothing specific about the negotiations, but we are still in communication. Then, when there is something specific in this direction, we will certainly go out to the public and communicate our position. Besa through our MPs has always been cooperative when there was a need to support reform processes. But if anything specific is offered at our address, then we will inform you. We do not rule out the possibility of being part of the Government, but then when it has a concrete offer, it will be reviewed by the party bodies, and then we will decide in which direction we will move, “Demiri said.

In addition to the fact that the leader of the Alliance for Albanians, Ziyadin Sela, after being re-elected as leader of this party, sent a message to Prime Minister Zaev not to “mess with” the Albanian opposition, in his last interview with Radio Free Europe, it was not clear whether he would return to Zaev’s government.

“I do not believe that there will be such a chance, to go back to the government, because it’s about dignity. There is never ‘no’ in politics, but on the other hand in these circumstances, ‘no’, “Zijadin Sela said a week ago.

According to sources from “Independent”, Economy Minister Kreshnik Bektesi is likely to be the next to step down from the ministerial chair. DUI, however, refuses to trade with the Social Democrats for ministerial posts in “Economy” and “Justice”.

Blerim Ismaili