Election Sunday. What next?

The desire for change appears absurd in a world where events and happenings follow each other in a cycle that repeats itself, only to return to where it started, at point zero. The mistaken perception in history that different figures bring novelty and innovation still keeps humanity bound when anyone does not know history with its corridors. In all the events of the world, nothing happens suddenly and even less by chance. What constitutes change are the interest groups involved in them.

Albania recently experienced a (not unusual) event in the history of its parliamentarism. On Sunday, May 11, parliamentary elections were held in the country, marking the 11th parliamentary elections in the history of Albanian pluralism. After the student protests of December that marked the end of the communist regime, the first pluralist elections were immediately held.

A majoritarian system and in an Assembly with 250 deputies, in the '91 elections, the Labor Party managed to win 169 mandates, compared to only 75 that Sali Berisha's DP received.

Today, after more than 34 years, the panorama in the Assembly has changed. The number of candidates but also the system on the basis of which these elections are held. A large percentage of the population was invested physically and professionally, each contributing to this atmosphere that very few do not include. The diaspora also received increased attention, where for the first time it became part of the electoral race directly, giving its verdict.

And as usual, the key word has been 'change' from all relevant actors in the political arena. We heard agendas, visions, and even promises (the latter mostly not entirely reasonable and well-argued), taken for granted for the sake of the end. An end that has fully justified the means.

The number of alternatives was relatively satisfactory, to the extent that we can say that each individual could feel somewhat represented regarding their approach.

A picture that offered not only an expected result - but as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban defined in his congratulations to PM Rama - a deeply overwhelming victory.

But how 'devastating' will this victory be for Albania?

The mandate won will be the fourth for the Socialist Party and Edi Rama, a story that is rarely repeated in the history of European elections, except for the case of Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2017, the fourth and last for her. This mandate of the Socialists seems to have undoubtedly brought together our historical past as well as the future with the symbolism of the European passport, Albania's entry into the European Union.

Post-election skepticism, analysis of the results, opposition failure and the success of the other side are not lacking, but it seems that this time the trenches are completely empty. And the tickets have been cut.

Is there a fatigue among the people?

The last decade has been repetitive in this regard, bringing a desolation of society in spirit and action. As a result, the word hope, which has its roots in change, remains nothing more than a sophism. Because change cannot happen if the participating actors are the first to not carry this goal, and like them, the massive popular vote is completely legitimized by this system.

Albanians have always voted with 'spirit', also due to historical circumstances, far from a deep vote on a political manifesto. But in no way is it not targeted and targeted where it should be - showing not only political intuition but also the close connection they have with it, unlike many societies in Western Europe where we have been fighting for years to join.

After Sunday's results, we realized that the change of power remains an illusion. The people legitimized it, and Albania is expected to wake up to the same dawn as always.

What now?

If Albania's political history appears mostly cyclical, this does not mean that it remains hopeless. Even in ancient Athens, where democracy was born amidst tensions, wars, and narrow interests, the citizen was never excluded — on the contrary, he was placed at the center. "The citizen who does not participate in public affairs is not only passive, but useless," the Athenians said.

Today, perhaps more than ever, participation is not a guarantee of immediate change but it is a prerequisite for awareness. It is what preserves the hope of a different tomorrow, perhaps with a leader who reinvents himself whenever he needs to. Because, unlike our communist past, we no longer remain silent. Therefore, this, in itself, remains a point from which history never returns to point Zero.