Edi Rama, "washes his hands" like Pontius Pilate!

Exactly 1997 years ago, in the province of the Jews of Jerusalem, an event took place, which would go down in history with the famous joke: "Wash your hands like Pilate". The Jewish priests had captured Jesus, who was brought before the Roman Governor of the province, Pontius Pilate, to condemn him as a heretic, who preached "lies" in the name of the Almighty God. According to Pilate, Jesus did not pose a danger to Rome, but on the other hand he did not want to break relations with the priests of the Jews. So he gathered a crowd of citizens in front of his palace, brought out of prison Barabbas, a thief and ordinary criminal, and after placing him at the side of Jesus, he addressed the crowd, asking him which of these two they wished to forgive on the occasion of Easter day. The crowd chose for forgiveness Barabbas, who had him from their ranks, and Pilate, confident in his "maneuver", I asked for water and washed his hands, leaving us a "legacy" of the two-thousand-year-old saying, which we put at the top of the writing. The same "scheme" happened on May 25, 2023 in the session of the Albanian Parliament, where the law on the salary pyramid of state institutions was discussed and approved. In fact, the government's bill referred to about 140,000 female employees of the central government and several thousand others from various sectors of the country, whose salary would increase by 90 to 100 percent by the middle of 2024. . This "project" was promised by the Prime Minister about a month and a half before the local elections on May 14, but because it conflicted with the "rules of the electoral game", it was temporarily put back in the drawer, to arrive a week after the elections at the desks of the Parliamentary Committee . Deputies of the commission, when they saw that the "money bag" was being opened, they made two small but significant "amendments" to the government project: In the list of doubling salaries, they also proposed and marked the names of their 140 colleagues in the parliament, and secondly : They fixed the date April 1, 2023, as the day when this doubling should begin to be "paid" in their pockets, thus putting into practice the electoral promise of the Prime Minister himself. KM Rama knew very well that the "crowd" in front of him, there in the parliament hall, was ten times wiser than the ancient "crowd" of Jerusalem, so unlike Pilate, he had to dilute the "discourse" a bit this issue, which, like a bolt from the clear sky, shocked ordinary Albanians, especially pensioners, whose monthly quota, from now on, will be as much as the value of one breakfast for the deputy, the minister, or his deputy. In order to appease the latter, KM Rama, at the beginning of the parliamentary session, came to the podium and made the following clarifications: "The new salary pyramid for the state administration is necessary, because we need to bring it closer to our neighbors." (When he stated this argument, he "forgot" to mention the other side of the pyramid of neighbors). "Secondly, - continued the Prime Minister, - by increasing the salaries of the state administration, we not only strengthen the state, but also increase the taxes that are extracted from the salaries, and therefore the possibility of increasing pensions and assistance in the future is created"! He did not determine this "future of pension increase" in time, but as they say, in October of this year, they will be "indexed" for inflation, which, thanks to "economic growth", will no longer be more than 2 or 3 percent. . . ! Second clarification, KM Rama gave it for the amendment of an article of the project by the parliamentary committee, which he did not like. "The government," Rama added, "had not anticipated the increase in the salaries of ministers and deputies at this stage. They can be increased only when the minimum wage of employees of all public sectors has been increased. It was the relevant parliamentary committee that introduced it as an amendment to the project, so I will not vote for the increase in the salaries of MPs, let alone for this increase to start as early as last April!". And in the absence of "Pilate's water", he wiped his hands with the napkin he had in his pocket, got off the podium and left the session, reminding us of the "legend" of Pontius Pilate in the year 26 of the New Era. KM Rama, left calmly - calmly, sure that the deputies would vote better than the ancient "crowd" of Jerusalem. He, he has been preparing this new "crowd" for three terms, very carefully, and he knows how his pulse beats. When it comes to salaries and benefits, all MPs, regardless of their "political side", receive the same color, that of the "lek" and the "euro-dollar". It is the only case, when unanimity in their ranks is complete. But what caught the eye this time, Sali Berisha tried to be put in the role of Pilate, who, after cursing the opponent with all the epithets for this "baseness" at the expense of the people, left the parliament, giving interviews and statements against of the law in question, sure that the number of deputies of his color, who were left in the parliament hall, was enough to, together with the majority, pass the law without a problem. And so it happened. Excluded two MPs from the opposition, which were also evident in the discussions, all the others joined the green cards of the socialists, in the voting of the law in question, which will remain in history as the "Pocket Law" of the Albanian Deputies. Even more interesting was the attitude of the President of the Republic. In all cases, the laws passed by the Parliament go to the presidency, and after being studied by the head of state and his assistant advisers, they are decreed and announced for execution. This procedure takes several days, even formally. But in the case in question, the law was "decreed" by the President before it was approved by the parliament itself. The chairwoman of the session, Felaj, before putting the law to the vote, read a letter to the deputies, which said that "the Parliament of Albania has sent a letter to the President, explaining about the law and its great importance, which makes it necessary to enact it as soon as possible. And the president, in his answer, clarifies the Presidency of the Parliament that he agrees with the law, so approve it as soon as possible, send it to me as well, that within the day I will decree and post it in the documents of the Presidency. Bravo, Mr. President! Thus, operative, should be the President of the state! Especially when there is a "causal" connection with the Prime Minister. Wasn't it the current prime minister who nominated you and appointed you to the post of Chief of the General Staff of the Army, although you had never completed a full military school in this profession, except for courses, like those of Berisha's poplars?! Wasn't it the current Prime Minister who proposed, appointed and congratulated you for the office of President of the Republic, alias Head of State? - a position that only I, in an article entitled "A presidential dream", published in the newspapers of the day, predicted! This "advance" signature of yours, Mr. President, is the truest and most sincere signature you have ever made, because after all it was a signature for the doubling of your salary, which from 2 million 570 thousand old lek to month, it will be made in the blink of an eye, 4 million and 250 thousand, this is equal to an average pension of 140 thousand lek per day, or as many as 30 such pensioners per month! Of course, you are not alone. "Solidarity" and on the same level as you, will be the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the Parliament. We talked about the "crowd" of the Parliament and the state administration, which in capitalism is paid to prolong the life of the predatory and oppressive system. Can the common people turn into a crowd, to implicitly accept this "innovation", which deepens the social gap of society? If this works, then your rule, insolent bourgeois gentlemen, will be eternal. But this cannot happen! The people cannot turn into a "crowd", as you think and want. The people are like a hurricane, when it explodes, it throws all the noises of the time before it. And it will happen one day!