The much-discussed mandate belonging to the "Albania Becomes" list has entered a grotesque phase: the clash is no longer between ideas, but between family ties. On one side stands Ana Dajko, the first candidate on the list and, in all likelihood, the legitimate beneficiary of the mandate ranked ahead of Kordhoni.
In the other, Zeqir Kordhoni, ranked ninth in the final version of the list, who is Endrit Shabani's uncle and placed there simply as a "filler" on the list at the last minute.
But history seems to be taking another turn: Ana Dajko turns out to be Adriatik Lapaj's cousin, perhaps she could take the mandate of Albania Becomes.
Now everything has turned into an absurd family duel: uncle against cousin, in a race that represents more the profound lack of political ethics than the civic alternative that this movement claimed to bring. If the mandate ends up in the hands of Ana Dajko, Lapaj will face criticism for sending a relative to Parliament, although at least he has kept his promise not to take the only mandate of his party himself. If, through some debatable legal interpretation or Ana's withdrawal, the mandate goes to Zeqir Kordhoni, then "Albania Becomes" will have sent to Parliament the uncle of another candidate, with whom it broke up after a long fight over morality in politics.
Who will win in the end?
What is certain is that the ideals with which this movement was wrapped have been obscured under the shadow of family ties and technical maneuvers. It remains to be seen whether this mandate will belong to the law, morality or kinship. What is certain is that Albania cannot be built with such tricks and games. We have enough of the old ones who have 30 years of such maneuvers that hold the country hostage./vna