Socialist Party of Albania

The Socialist Party of Albania (Albanian: Partia Socialiste e Shqipërisë, PS or PSSh) is a social-democratic^[1][3] political party in Albania.^[4] It has been described as centre-left.^[5][6][7] It is the inheriting force of the Communist Party of Albania, which was founded on 8 November 1941 and later became known as the Party of Labour of Albania (Partia e Punës e Shqipërisë). After the fall of communism in Albania, the Party of Labour of Albania rebranded itself as the Socialist Party of Albania in an effort to adapt to the new political landscape. This is the reason why the Socialist Party is claimed to have been founded on 13 June 1991.^[8] The PS is an associate of the Party of European Socialists^[9] and a member of the Socialist International,^[10] and it claims to hold pro-European views.^[11][12]

Socialist Party of Albania Partia Socialiste e Shqipërisë
Abbreviation	PS, PSSh, SP[1]
Chairman	Edi Rama[1]
Leader of the Parliamentary Group	Bledar Çuçi
General Secretary	Blendi Klosi
Founded	13 June 1991
Preceded by	Party of Labour of Albania
Headquarters	Sheshi Austria 4, 1001 Tirana
Newspaper	Zëri i Popullit
Youth wing	Euro-Socialist Youth Forum
Membership (2024)	93,000[2]
Ideology	Social democracy Pro-Europeanism
Political position	Centre-left
European affiliation	Party of European Socialists (associate)
International affiliation	Socialist International
Colours	Red[a] Green[a] Purple (customary)[b]
Slogan	Për Shqipërinë që duam ("For the Albania that We Want")
National Assembly	75 / 140
Municipality	54 / 61
Council Seats	757 / 1,613
Website
ps.al
Politics of Albania Political parties Elections

History

Party headquarters in Tirana

Established in 1991, the Socialist Party of Albania emerged in the aftermath of the fall of communism in Albania that had dominated Albanian politics since the end of World War II. The dissolution of the People's Socialist Republic prompted a reevaluation of political ideologies and a quest for democratic governance, paving the way for the rise of multiple political entities. The roots of the Socialist Party can be traced back to the Party of Labour of Albania under its founder Enver Hoxha, which had been the ruling party for over four decades. Hoxha's successor Ramiz Alia was forced to introduce limited reforms in the late 1980s. On 11 December 1990, Alia announced that the PPSh had given up its monopoly of power. The PPSh won the 1991 Albanian Constitutional Assembly election, the first free elections held in the country in almost 80 years. By this time, it was no longer a Marxist–Leninist party. At an extraordinary congress on 10–13 June 1991, the PPSh voted to change its name to the PS in an effort to survive in the new system.^[13]

Fatos Nano, a man from the intelligentsia, was elected the new chairman.^[14] Nano helped to reform the old Communist party and made it a member of the Socialist International. A faction of the party, led by Ilir Meta, split away from the PS in 2004 and formed the Socialist Movement for Integration (Lëvizja Socialiste për Integrim, LSI).^[15]

On 10 October 2005, Nano resigned as the chairman of the PS after losing the 2005 Albanian parliamentary election, and was succeeded by Edi Rama.^[16] Under Rama's lead, the PS formed the Alliance for a European Albania, which united several political parties. The alliance won the 2013 Albanian parliamentary election, thus returning the Socialists to the government after 8 years.^[17]

The Socialist Party, now running alone, again won the 2017 election and the 2021 election, winning 74 seats in both of them and is thus currently able to rule Albania alone, although it is externally supported by the Social Democratic Party in parliament.^[18]

Political positions

In its 2013 party platform, the party has pledged to replace the flat tax with a progressive tax, and also supports universal health care.^[19] Party leader Edi Rama has indicated that he supports LGBT rights in Albania.^[20] The party is also pro-European, supports the accession of Albania to the European Union,^[21] NATO membership,^[22] and considers Kosovo "Albania's main strategic partner and ally".^[23] Rama has also said that he strives to follow the Third Way approach of former British prime minister Tony Blair.

Organisation

Logos

The current logo is based on the fist and rose logo in the version created by José María Cruz Novillo for the Spanish Socialist Workers Party in 1977. The PS logo is used without official consent and agreement with PSOE.^[24]

• 
  2013–2023

Party leaders

No.	President		Born–died	Term start	Term end	Time in office
1	Fatos Nano		(born 1952)	13 June 1991	10 October 2005	14 years, 119 days
2	Edvin Kristaq Rama		(born 1964)	10 October 2005	Incumbent	19 years, 132 days

Electoral performance

Parliamentary elections

Election	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Rank	Government
1992	433,602	23.87	38 / 140	131[c]	2nd[c]	Opposition
1996	335,402	20.37	10 / 140	28	2nd	Opposition
1997	413,369	52.75	101 / 155	97	1st	Majority
2001	555,272	42.27	73 / 140	28	1st	Majority
2005	538,906	39.44	42 / 140	31	2nd	Opposition
2009	620,586	40.85	65 / 140	23	1st[25]	Opposition
2013	713,407	41.36	65 / 140		1st	Coalition
2017	764,761	48.19	74 / 140	9	1st	Majority
2021	768,177	48.68	74 / 140		1st	Majority

See also

• Political Academy of the Socialist Party of Albania
• List of political parties in Albania

Notes

1. Used in the party logo and flag.
2. Used by the Albanian government in their parliamentary diagrams.
3. The Socialist Party is a successor of the former Communist Party.

References

1. "European Election Watch Albania". Center for Strategic and International Studies. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
2. ""Rezultat pozitiv 32 mijë anëtarë të rinj të PS", Rama në Asamblenë e PS: Të miratojmë mbajtjen e Kongresit më 20 Korrik". Archived from the original on 2024-06-11. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
3. Slomp, Hans (2011). Europe, a Political Profile: An American Companion to European Politics. ABC-CLIO. p. 605. ISBN 978-0-313-39181-1.
4. Nordsieck, Wolfram (April 2021). "Albania". Parties and Elections in Europe.
5. "Albania opposition protests again, calls for new election". CityNews Vancouver. 2 June 2019. The centre-right Democratic Party-led opposition supporters gathered Sunday at the main government building accusing centre-left Socialist Party Prime Minister Edi Rama of corruption and links to organized crime.
6. "Albania protests: Smoke bombs and firecrackers thrown at police as demonstrations turn violent". The Independent. 3 June 2019. Prime Minister Edi Rama has faced repeated calls to stand down in recent months over claims that his centre-left Socialist Party is corrupt and has links to organised crime.
7. "Will the Presence of Iran's MEK Threaten Albania's Already Shaky Stability?". World Politics Review. 18 July 2019. Rama's center-left Socialist Party holds a majority in Parliament, while the opposition is made up of parties to his left and right.
8. Elsie, Robert (2010), Historical Dictionary of Albania. Scarecrow Press. p. 422.
9. "Partia Socialiste e Shqipërisë". Party of European Socialists. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
10. "Full list of member parties and organisations". Socialist International. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
11. "Strategic Partnership with Kosovo". Socialist Party. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
12. "The Albanian Electoral Systems since 1990" (PDF). Albanian Elections Observatory Brief (1). 19 April 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
13. Elsie, pxliii
14. Nano, Rexhina. "Te jetosh kohen", pp. 230.
15. Elsie, Robert (2010). Historical Dictionary of Albania. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 422. ISBN 978-0-8108-6188-6.
16. "Fitorja dhe sfidat e Edi Ramës" [Victory and challenges of Edi Rama] (in Albanian). BBCAlbanian.com. 10 October 2005.
17. "Violence mars Albania's general election". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
18. "Elections in Albania: Preliminary results show PM Rama's party wins". N1 (in Serbian). 2021-04-26. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
19. "KUJDES SHËNDETËSOR UNIVERSAL – Partia Socialiste e Shqipërisë". Partia Socialiste e Shqipërisë. Archived from the original on 16 September 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
20. "Rama pret përfaqësuesit e LGBT: Po bashkëjetesës, por jo martesave". www.panorama.com.al (in Albanian). Retrieved 2017-07-28.
21. "CILËSI DHE RITËM NË PROCESIN E INTEGRIMIT NË BE". www.ps.al (in Albanian). Archived from the original on 2022-11-26. Retrieved 2021-06-07.
22. "RESPEKTIM I ANGAZHIMEVE NË NATO". www.ps.al (in Albanian). Archived from the original on 2022-11-26. Retrieved 2021-06-07.
23. "PARTNERITET STRATEGJIK ME KOSOVËN". www.ps.al (in Albanian). Archived from the original on 2022-05-25. Retrieved 2021-06-07.
24. "El Partido Socialista de Albania plagia el logo del PSOE de Cruz Novillo". Gràffica (in Spanish). 30 August 2022. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
25. "National results of the 2009 parliamentary election (party list)" (PDF). ShtetiWeb.org.

External links

• Media related to Socialist Party of Albania at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website