Does Fatos Nano want the Presidential Office or the Leadership of the Socialist Party?

By Tirana Times Editorial Staff
A year ago, when Fatos Nano resigned from the leadership of the Socialist Party, few believed that the man that led the Albanian left through good times and bad would quit active politics forever. His resignation on September 2005 was seen as temporary or a tactical withdrawal in order to make a comeback at a more opportune moment. One of the scenarios talked about was a return to politics after the possible loss of local elections by the Socialist Party. According to this scenario, Nano would blame the new leadership of the SP and especially its young Chairman, Edi Rama. Since Nano had created the precedent of leadership rotation after a loss in elections, the victory of the governing majority in the elections should have triggered Rama’s resignation or increased pressures within the party for him to step down. Rama is particularly vulnerable to such a defeat since he is also mayor of Tirana municipality.
Yet, local elections have not taken place, the new leader of the Socialist Party has not lost any important political battles and Nano is already back in the limelight. He has accused Rama of ineffective opposition to the present government although there has been no public test as yet of his ineffectiveness. According to Nano, Rama is following Berisha’s heavy-handed style of leadership within the SP. Since the accuser has been unable or too lazy to elaborate on his accusations, they remain unfounded on hard facts or deductive argument. But the rich political CV of Fatos Nano shows that he has quit the party twice and both times was able to comeback. This is the third attempt, but circumstances have changed.
Since his resignation, the ex-Chairman of the Socialist Party has not been present in Albanian politics. His chair as Member of Parliament remained empty and he was missing from the extra-parliamentary give-and-takes of political life as well. It was as if he never existed. Yet talk of his comeback as future President of the country never subsided. So, does Nano want to be President or leader of the Socialist Party?
Parliament will have to choose the new President next June and it seems unlikely he will come from the ranks of the center right coalition. The eighty four votes needed seem to necessitate a consensus with at least a faction of the ‘united opposition.’ Will Fatos Nano provide that faction?
In order to be president, Nano need not seek the leadership of the Socialist Party. All he needs is his own vote as a member of parliament, that of his followers in parliament and the blessing of the ruling majority which is one or two votes shy of the magical number 84. The pie is large enough for both sides: if Nano becomes President, he can come back with the laurels of a “father of the nation” while Berisha dodges the bullet of early parliamentary elections. Yet, the right-wing laurels would not fit well the traditional leader of the left. This proposition is too unethical even for the strange habits of Albanian politics. Nano would need a sizable backing from a considerable segment of the present opposition in order to become president. In other words, he needs to dominate the socialist caucus and deny the presidential office to any candidate that does not get his approval.
But, if Nano can go so far as to act as the referee deciding the presidential game, than why should he not attempt to get back the leadership of the party? That way he would come to power not as a symbolic head of state but as a Prime Ministerشhe most important seat of power in the Republic.
In both cases Nano will need to dominate the socialist parliamentary group. Whatever the early moves of his comeback, the real battle will be for the hearts and minds of the socialist members of parliament. That is, Nano’s reentry in politics will be a battle for the SP leadership that may harm the party’s chances in the upcoming local elections and splinter its electoral message or the party itself. We have to wait and see.