Despite the insistence of a handful of deputies who are supporters of the former Democratic Party (DP) chairman, Lulzim Basha, former premier Sali Berisha joined the group in Thursday’s plenary session and took the floor lashing out at the government regarding the corrupt affair of incinerators and miserable economic living conditions of pensioners.
Berisha stressed that an affair has also occurred over the energy crisis. According to him, the energy was sold during the summer in very low figures, while the price was 120 euros on the stock exchange. The government should also give up the oil tax to help citizens, as such a practice is being followed by many other countries in the region and elsewhere, he said.
“The dramatic developments of recent weeks have proved indisputably that the government officials from its head to ordinary line clerks have filled their pockets, suitcases with hundreds of millions of euros in the incinerator affair. Try to present these isolated cases, but for all those who have the ABC of the criminal code, those who read article 28 of this code find that you are a mega criminal organization,” said Berisha. “That theft was done in cooperation. That theft was done with companies coming from the top of the pyramid and coming down to the base,” he said.
Further on Berisha said food prices have increased by 7.3% according to INSTAT. “Who does not know in Albania that the pensioners’ little money goes to buy medicaments. Do not make fun of them! The pension is for nothing else. Today they get 4% less than the previous price, despite your increase,” he told the majority.
Government said on Wednesday that there will be an indexation of 3.3 percent of prices for the pensioners.
In the meantime, the chairman of the parliamentary group of the Socialist Party, Taulant Balla declared in Parliament that “Sali Berisha is the last remnant of communism in this country”, while calling on the DP not to become the last refuge and the last communist bunker in Albania “Sali Berisha is the only person in this hall declared ‘non grata’ by the US for high level corruption,” said Balla.
This is another event when majority and opposition supporters of Basha join forces in their attack of Democrat veteran leader Sali Berisha. It remains to be seen what will happen in the DP camp regarding the endeavor to unify it. /Argumentum.al
