The Democratic Party has announced a national protest on March 22. But this date coincides with an official holiday in Albania, as Sultan Nevruzi is marked, a holiday that for many citizens also has a spiritual and family dimension, reports Gazeta Express.
This very coincidence has sparked debate within the opposition. According to sources, discussions have taken place within the Democratic Party, even in high-pitched tones, about the possibility of postponing the protest to another date.
A source told Shqip.com that some of the DP structures have asked the president, Sali Berisha, to cancel the March 22 protest and set another date, precisely because it coincides with the holiday of Sultan Nevruz. However, according to the same source, Berisha has not accepted this proposal and has been determined to hold the protest on the announced date as a form of reaction by the citizens, after the majority refused to lift Belinda Balluku's immunity.
Even publicly, Berisha has stated that Albanians expect the revolt to continue and that, according to him, it is not the time for celebration.
But this is precisely where the political dilemma arises. How Sali Berisha measures the pace of the Albanian revolt and their festive approach or not, this remains to be seen and understood in the future. In a climate where civic participation often depends on many social and economic factors, placing a protest on a holiday remains a choice that can be interpreted in different ways.
In fact, positions of this nature, like the rhetoric used earlier about the “last mile,” seem to be primarily aimed at a certain segment of the opposition electorate. They aim to keep mobilized a militant base that continues to trust the current DP leadership.
The last protest, that of March 12, was far from being on the verge of revolt. Not to mention that it resembled more the modest protests of Lapaj and Qori than a long-promised opposition "big explosion".
In this sense, the March 22 protest seems to be more of a test for the Berisha opposition, mobilizing its most loyal base, at a time when expanding support beyond this circle remains the main political challenge, which, as it seems, is unlikely to be realized.
In April, the DP is expected to hold elections for its chairman and Sali Berisha is a candidate, perhaps the only one in the race. In this context, the March 22 protest can also be read as a political message within the ranks of the blue headquarters, a demonstration of strength to show that Berisha is not only expected to regain the leadership of the party, but to do so without real rivals. Work has begun to find 1 or 2 "puppets" wandering around the corridors of the DP.
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