The leader of the Democratic Party, Sali Berisha, held the "Renewal Speech" in Lezha, where he declared that the Albanian opposition has gone through a difficult period, but according to him, it has remained strong and undefeated.
The leader of the Democratic Party said that the time now requires another mission, that of "renewing Albania" and removing the government from power. Berisha focused on social and economic issues, mentioning in particular the difficulties of pensioners in coping with living costs and medicines.
He also spoke about young people, who according to him are being forced to leave the country due to low wages and the high cost of living.
"Today there are hundreds of thousands of pensioners who cannot afford their medications," said Berisha, comparing the situation to the difficulties of the dictatorship period.
Speech by the leader of the DP, Sali Berisha:
Dear citizens, democrats of Lezha and the entire region, of Kurbin and Mirdita, a heartfelt greeting to you who are here today, a heartfelt greeting to all the residents, the people of Mirdita, the mountaineers, the Zadri residents, the residents of this region, and the most boundless gratitude for the support, for the extraordinary trust that you have shown to the DP over the decades.
I have a heartfelt greeting for the leader of the Democratic Party, for all the deputies of this party, for Mr. Gjin Gjoni, this representative with an important mission in this region and in this district.
Thank you very much for this warm and fraternal welcome.
We gather today at this Pulpit of Renewal at an extremely important moment for Lezha and all of Albania.
We have come to this stage, to this moment, after a difficult, painful path, but at the same time perhaps the most dignified path of our political life.
We remained undefeated, none of you, none of us for personal interest, absolutely not.
Neither of you stood up for close family interests.
Each of you stood for the noblest ideals of man.
He stood for human dignity.
For the dignity of his country.
He stood by the faith and conviction that Albania must have a true opposition.
That this opposition should be a loyal spokesperson for those who don't want the government.
That this opposition must be a faithful spokesperson for the values, for our social, human, and national heritage.
And in this context, we should feel proud that we fulfilled this mission with dignity.
We proved to be invincible.
We proved to be invincible.
Albania in these years had one of the strongest, most active oppositions. Albanians had an advocate for their interests.
In this regard, I must say that each of you, all those who decided to align themselves with the opposition in these years, all those who decided to defend the cause of a sovereign opposition in this country, are and remain my heroes.
But time today calls us, time calls us to renew Albania.
Time calls us to expel from power this great evil, which in some respects is the greatest evil that Albanians have seen in their history.
Time calls us to provide the most accurate, fastest answers to the major problems that society and our citizens face.
Today, there are hundreds of thousands of elderly Albanians, pensioners, who, with the pension they receive, due to the stratospheric increase in prices, absolutely cannot provide themselves with normal food for more than two weeks a month. They cannot provide themselves with three meals a day.
Today, there are hundreds of thousands of pensioners who cannot afford their medical care.
Friends, the same thing happened during the dictatorship. Farmers, peasants who worked in agricultural cooperatives, toiled, but with the money they earned from a day's work, those who got sick couldn't buy medicine.
Even today, a pensioner cannot buy medicine.
What happens to him?
The disease is merciless, it erodes it every day, every week, every month and shortens its life. And this is our daily reality.
Today, young people, in the calculations they make, cannot build a life in Albania.
He graduates from university and to start a family he has to pay a rent higher than the salary he receives. The rent in Tirana today is 720 euros, which is above the average salary.
And this young man, faced with the impossible, decides to flee, to take his dream with him. Not to build it in Lezha, in Shkodra, in Albania, but to take to the streets of the world.