TWO RIDERS ON THE LOCAL TRAIL

Albanian Parties in Local Elections

AIM Skopje, 21 October, 1996

In multi-ethnic and multi-cultural Macedonia, local "cartography" has acquired almost completely pure single ethnic contours. When speaking of Albanian parties, the local public believes that the political struggle for winning local elections will pass in the shadow of the greatest and most influential parties: the Party of Democratic Prosperity (PDP) led by Abdurrahman Aliti and the opposition Party of Democratic Prosperity of the Albanians (PDPA) with Arben Xhaferi at its head. The PDPA is a serious political rival which can surprise the PDP (a coalition partner in the current administration) in the local elections, especially in the regions of Tetovo, Gostivar and Struga.

Concerning the ethnic coloration, local elections in Macedonia might as well be over. Already at the time of the new administrative division of the country, when the number of municipalities from the existing 35 was increased to 124, it was clear that spheres were strictly divided and that all possibilities of bringing the citizens into the dilemma whether to vote for "their" or "our" candidate were avoided. In other words, division of municipalities was made in such a way that practically no possibility of rivalry exists which might be said to have interethnic implications. The relation between "our and their" now has exclusively party meaning within the same ethnic collectivity. This means that the "wise" Macedonian authorities have managed to save their citizens the temptation to test their own civic awareness, because in multi-ethnic and multi-cultural Macedonia, local "cartography" has almost purely single-national contrours.

Briefly, political teams lined according to their ethnic colours, will come out into a completely "cleansed field", each within its own ethnic group. Two strongest political camps - the Macedonian and the Albanian - have already started the struggle for local authorities. The Albanian "political camp" is formed by the Party of Democratic Prosperity (PDP, which is a coalition partner in the current authorities), the Party of Democratic Prosperity of the Albanians (PDPA, which was formed in faction struggle within the PDP a few years ago), the National Democratic Party (so far, its activities could be brought down to regular issuing public statements on the status of the Albanians in Macedonia), and a few minor groups which might as well be said to be "fan clubs" of Nevzat Haliti, Hisen Ramadani and a few others. In their name the prefix "Party" has more the role of an ornament than a key word with essential meaning. That is why the public here rightfully assumes that political struggle for winning the post of the mayor (more precisely "village headmen" since most of the municipalities with majority Albanian citizens are rural) and municipal councillors will pass as a mark of the two largest and most influential parties: the PDP led by Abdurrahman Aliti and opposition PDPA with Arben Xhaferi at its head. The latter has manifested its opposition role most frequently by leaving and returning to the parliament whenever they chose, and outside the parliament it proved to be as a perfect conductor for chorus singing at rallies. Now when all secret wishes have gone to the dogs of people who had the illusion that brotherly love between these two parties would spring up after all and result in a coalition, it remained to be seen which one of them overestimated itself and which one acts according to the well known piece of wisdom that it is better to be a small hammer than a large anvil. Another national wise saying should not be forgotten that for those who ruled others it is unbearable to endure someone else's rule. This refers to the PDP whose ministers and other officials aready have activated all "facilities" offered by their current position (from state-owned cars which are at their disposal to the possibility to "offer" more than their rivals), since they do not want any surprises to happen to them.

Aliti's Party of Democratic Prosperity is the one which can be portrayed by analysts without great difficulties. In comparison with the PDPA which can at the moment declare its objectives only according to the pattern "what would happen if it were in power", Aliti's party is well known as a player who has been in the Macedonian political field for several years now, as a participant in the ruling coalition. Its proclaimed concept is known, and in simplified terms it could be defined as realization of full equality of the Albanians with the others (this always implies "state-forming" Macedonians) on all levels and in all spheres of life. The manner in which this goal can be achieved is also known: by democratic methods and through participation in state institutions as long as a democratic dialogue of equals is possible. As concerning the global concept, there is practically no difference between the Albanian parties in Macedonia. Essentially they differ by the manner in which they intend to accomplish the set goal. And this is what brings us to what at least declaratively distinguishes the PDPA from Aliti's party. Most common criticism the party of Arben Xhaferi addresses to the PDP range from the extreme that its participation in the current authorities is harmful for the Albanians because it acts as a decoration to the Macedonian party which can "brag" to the international community how it resolves interethnic problems, to the assessment that five ministers-Albanians in Macedonian administration conceal the obvious deficit of the Albanians in state institutions, and this deficit reaches the figure of several thousand. When inclinations of the parent country - Albania for the PDPA are added to this popular stance among the Albanian population, it becomes clear that the PDPA is a serious political rival which can surprise the Party of Democratic Prosperity in the local elections, especially in the regions of Tetovo, Gostivar and Struga.

If it wishes to materialize its political ambitions by participating in state institutions, the PDP has already spent the time for initial "restructuring". It is high time for it to be in the phase of "political maturity". However, this phase has proved to be the most risky one in the states in which democracy is just a veil covering up weaknesses of the power-wielders, which was until recently the platitude "brotherhood & unity". In order to make someone successful in the period of transition which can still be called the time of "acting democracy", it is necessary to have a political elite (in the positive sense of the word), which to be realistic the local Albanians neither have, nor have the possibility to build, in comparison with the Macedonians who had such a possibility in former Yugoslavia. Such a state of affairs in fact stresses the risk for a "political mafia" to emerge overnight instead of this "political elite".

Those who tend to underline only defficiencies would easily find a number of arguments in favour of the allegation that the PDP has all these years instead of "political Albanian elite" built a "closed political clan" which acts as a political sect and operates according to the rule that "anyone who does not pray in our cathedral" is worthless and needless. On the other hand, however, anyone who wishes to be realistic cannot disregard the role played by this party in everything that the Albanians have accomplished in Macedonia, regardless of how satisfactory or unsatisfactory it may seem. The dilemma whether these effects would have been greater if the party had not decided to join the coalition in power, remains both for the sceptics and the realists. But this dilemma is not sufficient to reach the decision whether to be inside or outside the institutions of the system. To exit in the manner in which members of parliament from the PDPA do it (they have left the Assembly twice already) and then wait to be asked to return implies that they had not known why they were doing it and how they would act either when they were joining or when they were leaving. That is why perhaps the best assessment is the one according to which Arben Xhaferi reflects what the Albanians in Macedonia wish - the ideal, and Abdurrahman Aliti knows how to limit these wishes and accomplish the optimum. In other words, Xhaferi is riding an untamed and swift horse in order to reach the political goal at once, sometimes "running down a roundabout road", while Aliti is in the saddle of a skilful horse which, in order to reach the goal, must "jump over" all institutional "obstacles", which in the end results in accomplishment of what is possible at present in this political ambience of the Balkans. There is also the fact that the Albanians are suspicious about Aliti, and his ruling partners do not trust him. This means that both are running towards the same goal, but along different tracks. Such riders can hardly or not at all meet even in the forthcoming local elections which will finally reflect a realistic diagram of their political ratings.

The last meeting of leaders of the PDP with the leaders of the ruling Democratic Party in Albania somewhat improved their rating after the "tour of rallies" organized in support of Tetovo university and as a protest against the arrest of activists of this educational institution which the authorities consider illegal. In these rallies, Aliti's party was clearly stamped as "treacherous" and "unnational". After all, for the local ethnic Albanian public, the stance of official Albania always played a key role in decision-making of the electorate. Official Tirana has been unambiguous lately in claiming that it would not support any extra-institutional activities of the Albanian political subject in Macedonia. This indirectly adds points in favour of the PDP which has been defending the thesis from the beginning that the Albanians must patiently conquer the space which they are entitled to through state institutions. The assessments that, despite the official stance, the ruling structures in Albania are indeed inclined towards the party of Arben Xhaferi are based on the fact that the media in Albania more readily receive the PDPA that the PDP. But, even without this discrete support from Tirana, the PDPA will create a big "headache" for the PDP in the local elections, which will finally have to get used to the existence of a serious partner who can significantly ruffle election calculations. Especially in Macedonian political atmosphere where all ethnic trump cards have not been used yet, and they play the decisive role in "political poker". This is even more true when one knows that in this state everything is happening on the verge of proclaimed civil democratic concept and that which is produced by "political underground" - society with a lot of laws but no order at all.

The Albanian parties cannot operate outside this reality, and their handicap is that they have no cadre either for one or the other "activity". That is why local elections can serve as a specific training for party cadres. And as a possibility to accomplish some of the proclaimed objectives for the benefit of the population whose interests they represent. If anything can be forecast is the fact that the struggle for mayors in urban centres (Tetovo, Gostivar, Debar...), where it is certain that they will be Albanians, will be hard and merciless to the end. Rumour goes that during choice of candidates, Abdurrahman aliti had biggest problems with cadres who had alreay felt the irrestistable delight of power (former officials of his party), and Arban Xhaferi, on the contrary, with those who know that even the role of "village headman" offers privileges which exceed the ones enjoyed by mortals. Somewhere between these two camps are voters and those who have realized that people from politics resemble a sick man in bed: they shift from one side to the other believing that in this way they will peacefully fall asleep, with the only difference that a sick man is eager to leave bed as soon as possible, and a politician, on the contrary, wishes to remain for ever bedridden in his political "bed".

KIM MEHMETI