Sali Berisha gave the first bitter lecture to Ilir Meta to show him that he is not fit to lead the opposition. Even those few people who had gathered, among the garbage of Sharra and the cemetery, were a handful of opposition guards and mercenaries, but without the people of March 2 with them. The bitter lecture seems to have taken away from Ilir Metaj, not only the future, but also his false past, after he showed who filled the square on March 2, almost two years ago, when he was in trouble.
But did Sali Berisha really have to humiliate Ilir Meta?
Being a protest called to prove the importance of Ilir Meta in the opposition, without consulting Berisha, in fact Berisha has formally respected the purpose of the protest. He has proved to Metaj what he is worth.
But this is a wrong lesson of Berisha, who has to accompany him for a long time in the opposition journey with Ilir Metaj. With this step, he humiliated but did not subjugate Ilir Meta, he showed him that he is small and powerless to show the market, but he did not eliminate it as a problem. He WILL be there until the end, more as a problem than as an ally.
Berisha's decision shows, on the other hand, that he is not leading the opposition as a leader who wants to unite it and lead it to victory, but as someone who will be strong not only with the government but also with the opposition. Even in Mond Spaho's speech, there was more bile for the DP part that is not subject to Berisha than for the government.
The abandonment of the Metaj protest is a depressing signal for opposition unity this fall, which is likely to be more reactionary than revolutionary as they have warned. And Sali Berisha is clear about this effect. But he is not worried. He needs the majority of the opposition to be with him, neither with Ilir Metaj nor with Lulzim Basha, nor with anyone else. He hopes to be important as a hostage taker. And we should recognize this merit.
All those who have joined him over the years in the hope that he will protect and guide them must now realize that he needs them to protect himself. This transforms him from the great hopeful to the great hostage taker. And the people of March 2 did not allow Ilir Metaj to use it without permission. Even LSI was not visible. Only a few politically dead people and some street trash from the DP made them available. Maybe because the place was among cemeteries and garbage.