Zogaj: Rama personalises SPAK’s creation, the reform could not have been done without the opposition

Analyst Preç Zogaj, during the discussion on the RTSH programme “Trialog” on the theme “The clash with the judiciary, how Rama has changed”, said Prime Minister Edi Rama’s stances towards the Special Structure Against Corruption and Organised Crime (SPAK) are characterised by constant wavering and a lack of consistency. According to Zogaj, the dynamic of relations between the executive and the judiciary shows visible oscillations, which are conditioned by political and investigative developments in the country.

“Even in the light of these facts, which may be enriched with new ones, it is noticeable that there is no constant stance, but wavering stances that change constantly. Of course, SPAK is a factor of great weight in the country’s political and institutional life. No one can expect the prime minister to be distanced, indifferent or to avoid pronouncing on it, as that would make no sense. Although these are independent powers, they are part of the same state. So it is no wonder that the head of the executive occasionally offers considerations in different tones about the judiciary — a phenomenon seen in Italy and everywhere else,” Zogaj said.

The analyst underlined two essential elements that explain and unpack the head of government’s rhetoric. According to him, Rama has a constant tendency to take authorship of SPAK’s creation, presenting it as an exclusive creation of the Socialist Party.

According to Zogaj, this thesis is used not only for public consumption, but also as a direct message of pressure to the corps of special prosecutors themselves: “You are there thanks to me, so do not forget that.”

In his view, the Justice Reform and the creation of the new institutions were approved with full consensus from the entire political spectrum. Zogaj underlined that, just as it could not have been done without the majority of the time, the reform could not have passed without the opposition’s votes either, because of its constitutional nature.

In his analysis, Zogaj concluded that the prime minister’s shifting statements are not spontaneous, but constitute a calculated strategy to keep SPAK’s work under public and psychological influence.