Edi Rama returns to office with back-to-back meetings as September session, cabinet reset loom
After summer leave, the prime minister spent Monday and Tuesday in a round of in-person and Zoom meetings with senior officials. On Monday he met Speaker Elisa Spiropali, the minister for parliamentary affairs Taulant Balla and Socialist group leader Niko Peleshi. The talks focused on the new parliamentary session starting in September and the option of adding committees, including turning the Special Anti-Corruption Committee into a permanent parliamentary body.
On Tuesday morning, ministers overseeing key economic portfolios were seen at the PM’s office: Finance Minister Petrit Malaj, Deputy Prime Minister and infrastructure/energy chief Belinda Balluku, and Enterprise Minister Delina Ibrahimaj.
Why is this important: No names have been selected or ruled out for the new cabinet, expected in early September. True to the approach he has followed after past elections, the prime minister’s silence has been tightlipped about his preferences during the last days of August.
Context: Speculation about cabinet picks has been unusually scarce this summer. It is widely understood that the prime minister does not pre-clear choices; in many cases, ministers have learned of their appointment in the hall, before cameras, alongside other National Assembly members.
The details: More meetings in this format are planned through 30 August, when the prime minister departs for the Bled Summit.
A National Assembly meeting is scheduled for 11 September and the new ministerial names for the “Rama 4” cabinet are expected to be announced on this date.
The prolonged appeals process over the 11 May elections has delayed the president’s decision setting the date for the first sitting of the new legislature, so the ruling party will not convene its National Assembly at the end of August.
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