Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku spoke on Top Story with Grida Duma on Top Channel about her relations with the mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj.
She stated that she and Veliaj continue to sit at the same working table whenever meetings are held with district leaders for the May 11 elections, while stating that he was publicly lynched after the investigations undertaken by SPAK.
Belinda Balluku: Erion Veliaj and I are good friends and have been friends for a long time, before we had these duties. I understand that there is always a demand for a soap opera.
What are these accusations that are being made...
I understand very well that there is an attention and tendency for soap operas in the news, but to be honest, they are messing around in the wrong place because neither I nor Erion have any reservations about each other.
Do you really think that SPAK's attack on the mayor doesn't harm the Tirana SP?
I would like all levels of justice to be followed as they should be. If a file is investigated, this does not make the person under investigation guilty. This is the biggest mistake that is happening at this moment, everyone who has an open case, definitely needs all this public anger that puts the person in a corner and treats them as a guilty person. This should not happen.
When it comes to Meta and Berisha, there is no problem...
Erion is a political figure. Today he was at the table with me and all the other district leaders and he is working, as he has worked every day, and I assure you of this.
Veliaj is the mayor of Tirana and one of the leaders of the District, he is a high political representative. So far we have the opinion of the prime minister that he is being publicly lynched. Do you have an opinion?
I just said this a moment ago. There is an unjustified public lynching.
Yes, the SP will have a cost, not only in Tirana, but everywhere. For Veliaj, we don't just have a report, we have a check, we have the wife's check...
I share the same position with the prime minister. A public lynching is taking place without logic. As for the impact, today I was at the same table with Veliaj and all the district leaders, it is at work. We are in a campaign that we consider to have begun.
SPAK is acting, but there should be a public discussion since Veliaj is the mayor of Tirana...
We will never make the mistake our predecessors made of influencing the justice system. For this reason, the right time has come to separate honest and clean work from abuses.
Do you have any idea who Nesti Angoni is?
I don't even know who Nesti Angoni is, nor do I have any interest in knowing. I have seen a hurricane of accusations which, to be honest, have made me smile. It is not in my interest as I have much more important things to do than deal with the insinuations and accusations of the media regarding this matter.