{"id":17605,"date":"2021-07-18T14:22:53","date_gmt":"2021-07-18T12:22:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/?p=17605"},"modified":"2021-07-18T14:24:52","modified_gmt":"2021-07-18T12:24:52","slug":"a-grave-event-the-bar-has-been-raised-patozi-comments-usas-non-grata-designation-of-berisha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/a-grave-event-the-bar-has-been-raised-patozi-comments-usas-non-grata-designation-of-berisha\/","title":{"rendered":"‘The bar has been raised\u2019 \u2013 Patozi comments USA\u2019s non grata designation of Berisha \u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

In an interview for Euronews Albania, the former Chair of the Democratic Conviction, Astrit Patozi said that the decision of the U.S Department of State to designate former PM Sali Berisha and his family the non-grata status, is a \u2018severe event\u2019 for Berisha and what he represents in Albanian politics.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a grave event first and foremost for Sali Berisha himself and then for what he represents in Albanian politics and he doesn\u2019t represent very little. He is the person that dominated our political scene for 30 years in a row. By striking Sali Berisha, the US has raised the bar and have shown that everyone else that is located below his level, has a good reason to be scared. At last, we can see the beginning of a new justice system,\u201d said Patozi.<\/p>\n

The former Chair of the Democratic Convictions, referred to the Constitutional Court\u2019s verdict to nullify the law that allowed the distribution of the MP mandates to candidates according to the quotient, as something positive and a signal for change.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good news, because victory is a big word, – despite the fact that this has been our cause since the very start. For us, it has been in a way, an embodiment of a political battle, which doesn\u2019t serve the Democratic Conviction, but the whole of Albania, more so to give a signal that change is near. We would prefer that it applied to the elections we just held in our country as well, but we believe that it will at least have some effect in the future,\u201d said Patozi.<\/p>\n

In addition, when asked regarding the relationship between Lulzim Basha and Sali Berisha, Patozi called it hypocritical.<\/p>\n

He argued that DP hasn\u2019t done anything that can prove they are different from the party in power.<\/p>\n

\u201cDP got the result it deserved. I don\u2019t need to say this because they said it themselves, through the way they conducted their Leadership vote after the April 25th<\/sup>\u2019s elections, and in the way they are turning to a congress that is all the more consolidating the power of the leader,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Patozi also spoke on the new political forces in Albania, saying that \u201cthe status quo in our country has been designed to kill new parties from birth\u201d.<\/p>\n

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