Democratic Party leader criticizes 2025 budget for ignoring citizens’ needs

The leader of the Democratic Party, Sali Berisha, accused the government of neglecting citizens in the 2025 budget, as it does not include wage and pension increases. He announced that his party will propose two amendments to set a minimum stipend of 200 euros and to improve treatment for miners.

Why is this important: The next year’s budget is approximately 822 billion lekë, making it the largest budget the country has ever had. In contrast, the Democrats approved a budget of 409 billion lekë, exactly half of next year’s, during their last year in power in 2013.

Context: Berisha claimed that the budget does not foresee wage and pension increases. He criticized the government for not allocating 700 million euros from the surplus to the pension fund, describing it as an irresponsible stance. He highlighted the government’s handling of pensions this year, accusing it of withholding a 4% indexing from March to October, only to give it as a “new year’s gift.”

What did he say: According to Berisha, the budget treats farmers dismissively with an unimaginable VAT regime remaining unchanged and a total budget allocation for them at only 40 million. Democrats remember that this category contributes over 20% to the country’s gross output, and this approach could lead farmers towards bankruptcy. When in power, Democrats taxed wages with a flat rate of 10%, promising to reduce it to 9%, while the Socialists have implemented a progressive tax ranging from 13% to 23% for wages over 200,000 lekë, which Berisha terms as punitive.

In a press conference, Berisha also addressed Prime Minister Rama’s meeting in Greece, claiming it was filled with people brought from Albania to populate the venue and condemned the unacceptable, absurd barring of TV KLAN and A2CNN journalists at the Greek border at Kapshtica.