TIRANA, July 30 /ATA/ Prime Minister Edi Rama on Thursday unveiled the “Loyal Presence” document during a meeting with Socialist Party political leaders and parliamentary committee chairs, describing it as a blueprint for a new phase in the party’s evolution centred on respect, active listening, empathy, solidarity, integrity and service to citizens.
Rama said the draft document was open to comments from party members, but stressed that its core principles should remain unchanged.
He said its guiding spirit was based on respect expressed through a willingness to listen, describing listening not as waiting for a turn to speak but as the party’s primary task and a new discipline to be practised at all times, regardless of whether there are cameras, election campaigns or supporters present.
Rama said empathy was not a sign of weakness but a strength, arguing that when citizens share their problems they offer something more valuable than a vote — their trust and dignity — and that their concerns should never become a tool for political gain.
He also said the Socialist Party should listen to and serve everyone regardless of their political affiliation or voting history, stressing that citizens’ needs should be addressed without regard to party loyalties.
On integrity and responsiveness, Rama said failing to respond to citizens should become unacceptable within the Socialist Party. Referring to the case of a farmer from Lushnjë who waited three years for an answer, he said people do not expect every request to be approved, but they do expect a clear response — whether yes, no or when — arguing that unresolved problems become degrading when they are ignored.
Rama also stressed the need for commitment to transforming the party’s “machinery” by leading through personal example.
He said the shift had to begin with the party leadership, parliamentary group and government if it was to gain credibility across the Socialist Party. Rama added that internal criticism should be encouraged and addressed openly within the party, while public criticism should take the form of self-criticism in the party’s interest rather than members publicly distancing themselves from problems for personal or political advantage.
Rama said the new dividing line in this phase was not between those who had joined the protests and those who had not, but between people who wanted to improve Albania and those pursuing their own interests.
He added that the Socialist Party should create more space for new people, fresh ideas and renewed energy, urging the party leadership to focus on breaking down the perceived barriers between the party and citizens.
Rama said that while the “Besa” document sets out the party’s commitments to citizens and how the government should deliver on them, “Loyal Presence” is about the party’s accountability to itself and to the public.
He added that citizens should be able to hold the party accountable for its presence on the ground, arguing that many previously successful political forces ultimately lost power because they listened to people before elections but stopped listening once in government.
Rama said the Socialist Party should become an exception to that pattern, describing it as the party’s mission to avoid the mistakes that have led other long-governing parties to lose public support. He added that while the goal might sound ambitious, he believed it was achievable.
/k.s/r.e/sm/
