Sadiku: There is little difference between Rama and Kurti, both have authoritarian tendencies

Ermal Sadiku, a member of the Democratic League of Kosovo, said there was little difference between Edi Rama and Albin Kurti, noting that both lead left-wing parties and both have authoritarian tendencies.

According to Sadiku, both Rama and Kurti have relatively modest academic backgrounds.

“Rama studied at the University of Tirana, and Kurti at the University of Pristina. Four years of study at universities that are now ranked among the weakest in Europe. Kurti speaks two foreign languages, while Rama speaks three,” Sadiku wrote on Facebook.

As he added, Rama at least has an artistic body of work to his name.

“Paintings, exhibitions and works that can be evaluated or criticized. To this day, Kurti is not known for any comparable creative work. Not a book, not a painting, nor any other artistic work. In politics, both are major electoral winners. Rama with around 52 percent, and Kurti with around 47 percent of the vote. Both have built models of governance in which power is concentrated around one person. Institutions, agencies and public enterprises are treated as extensions of the party. Political loyalty often seems to matter more than professionalism,” the post reads.

Sadiku also believes that both interfere in the politics of Albanians outside the societies they lead.

“Especially in North Macedonia, where instead of bringing people together, they have often contributed to divisions. Kurti is involved in a political organization in Albania. The other holds meetings with Vucic. Then the first responds by meeting with Mickoski. And so their competition for regional political prominence continues. Both use Albanians from the ‘Presevo Valley’ for photographs, statements and political propaganda. Both talk about drones, artificial intelligence, national security and geopolitics. They speak as if they were shaping the future of Europe,” Sadiku believes.

At the same time, he points out, citizens of Albania and Kosovo are facing basic problems, including access to drinking water, an education system whose results are among the weakest in Europe, hospitals in very poor condition and institutions that fail to provide dignified services.

“They talk about the technologies of the future without having solved the problems of the present. That is where the greatest paradox lies. Rama and Kurti are now the two most powerful Albanian politicians. They have votes, power, influence and extraordinary political control. But power does not necessarily make you a leader. An electoral victory is not proof of successful governance. And patriotism is not measured by flags, photographs and speeches,” the lawmaker said.

Sadiku noted that power can also be won by dividing the people.

“You become a leader only when you manage to unite and develop them. These two have proved that they know how to win elections. They have yet to prove that they know how to build a state. Powerful politicians, yes. Leaders, no. Patriots, even less so,” Sadiku concluded.