Albania’s political crisis moved indoors on Thursday. Opposition Democratic Party lawmakers set off flares and smoke bombs in parliament, banged on desks, threw water bottles toward Prime Minister Edi Rama and blocked access to the podium during a vote on a central bank law, chanting for his resignation. Opposition leader Sali Berisha, whose microphone was cut off, said the ruling lawmakers were criminals who deserved the tear gas and rubber bullets used on young protesters, while colleagues around him held blue flares and photographs of protesters injured by police.
The chamber scene caps a fortnight of street unrest. Student led demonstrations that began on October 13, driven by anger over corruption, underfunded education, unemployment and a lack of opportunity, have spread beyond Tirana, with protesters setting fire to government buildings and banks and clashing with police. AFP put the injured at more than 350 people, including many officers, with dozens of protesters detained. The protesters have distanced themselves from both parties, carrying signs accusing Rama and Berisha alike of corruption, which leaves the opposition performing a grievance it does not own.
The government’s response has hardened in steps. On Wednesday it adopted fines of up to 500,000 lek, about 5,500 euros, for anyone who participates in a protest that turns violent, even without personally committing violence, and for concealing identity in such a crowd; the measures take effect immediately but need parliamentary approval within 45 days to remain in force. Rama, who has governed since 2013 and won a fourth term last year, has blamed foreign hands opposed to Albania’s European Union path, while also calling students to dialogue and offering cheaper fuel and more money for poor families.
Deputy opposition leader Belind Kellici told AFP that the government was pushing its agenda as if nothing were happening, a deliberate attempt to deny the depth of the crisis. Another demonstration is scheduled for Saturday. The immediate question is whether the fines law survives its 45 day parliamentary test in a chamber where the opposition has shown it can stop proceedings, and whether Saturday’s turnout grows or fades now that participation itself carries a price.