By Thoma Gëllçi

A group of scientists has completed an important study on a phenomenon that political science has not yet managed to explain: why some government promises take thirteen years to be fulfilled, while others are fulfilled within three days.

After extensive research, the group has concluded that the widespread belief that politicians do not keep their promises is completely wrong. On the contrary, politicians are very honest people. The problem lies with citizens, who do not distinguish between promises to get power and promises to keep power.

These are two completely different categories and should not be confused with each other.

The first category includes promises of drinking water twenty-four hours a day, free healthcare, dignified pensions, jobs, railways, and a better life.

For example, the promise of drinking water in every home continues to be in the process of being realized. Thirteen years may seem like a long time, but it should be borne in mind that Albania has a lot of water and an unusually large number of taps. The government cannot be asked to deal with everything at once. Moreover, citizens have developed the bad habit of demanding water as soon as they turn on the tap.

Even free healthcare has encountered objective difficulties. The main obstacle is that citizens continue to get sick. Some even demand tests, medicines and surgeries, regardless of the difficulties they create for the government. If they had shown a little more responsibility and not gotten sick, the promise of free healthcare would have been fully realized.

The situation with pensions is even clearer. The government promised to increase them, and pensions have increased. The fact that tomatoes, cheese, meat and almost all other products have become more expensive faster cannot be blamed on the government. It had promised to increase pensions, not reduce prices. Promises should be read carefully, especially by pensioners.

A particularly interesting case is the Tirana–Durres–Rinas railway. Its construction has been promised for years, but the trains have not yet started running. However, the government has shown extraordinary care for the safety of passengers. Within a few days, it managed to adopt measures that foresee the removal of people with violent behavior from stations and means of transport, including trains. So, years were not enough to build the railway, while a few days were enough to stop violent protesters from boarding the trains. This is an indisputable success: Albania still does not have trains on that line, but it has rules ready about who should not board them. So far, the measure has worked perfectly. No violent protestor has boarded the Tirana–Rinas train. In fact, no other citizen has boarded it, but this only proves its effectiveness.

Another promise has been to create conditions for young people to build a life in Albania. Here too, the results have been partial, because young people have continued to leave the country. But, recently, a much more practical solution has been found. Instead of creating conditions for young people to want to stay in Albania, restrictions could be imposed so that some of them cannot leave. The measures envisaged for people involved in violent actions during the protests create new opportunities in this regard. Thus, a promise that called for economic development, jobs and better wages could be partially fulfilled with a verification at the border. The savings for the state budget are considerable.

But the study's most important discovery relates to the second category, promises to maintain power.

Here, state administration undergoes an extraordinary transformation. Institutions that for years failed to provide water, health services, or adequate pensions suddenly become examples of speed and efficiency.

All it takes is a promise of tough measures against protesters and everything starts to work. Ministries draft proposals, lawyers prepare documents, electronic registers are ready, fines are determined, and procedures are approved with a speed that would make even the Swiss administration envious.

Scientists have observed that this ability is not limited to protests. It also appears in cases of building permits, concessions, and important investments. When the investor is an ordinary person, the procedures are complicated and the laws are strict. When the investor is an important friend, the procedures are simplified, urban plans are adapted, and obstacles disappear. If the request does not comply with the law, there is no reason for the investor to worry. The law can be changed.

The scientific group has dubbed this phenomenon the “Principle of Selective State Elasticity.” According to this principle, the state is rigid for the ordinary citizen, but extremely elastic for the important citizen.

The study also revealed that time in the Albanian administration is not measured the same for everyone. For a pensioner, thirteen years is thirteen years. For a sick person waiting for medical care, six months is six months. For a citizen seeking drinking water, a day without water lasts twenty-four hours. But for the government, thirteen years can be considered a preparatory period, while three days are completely sufficient to take measures against those who protest against it.

The scientific conclusion is irrefutable: politicians are not at all incapable of keeping promises. They have an extraordinary ability to fulfill them, provided the promises are of the right category.

To avoid misunderstandings in the upcoming elections, our research group recommends that every electoral promise be accompanied by an explanatory note:

"This promise is given upon taking power and does not create an obligation to fulfill it after the elections."

While for promises of the second category, it is recommended to use the formula:

"Implementation is guaranteed. In urgent cases, the law can be changed even before citizens find out what they were promised."

Finally, to give this scientific discovery constitutional support, it is proposed to add a special article to the Constitution of the Republic of Albania:

"Drinking water, pensions, healthcare, railways and the well-being of citizens are guaranteed according to possibilities. The maintenance of power is guaranteed twenty-four hours a day, without interruption."

Our scientific group recommends that this article be approved through an accelerated procedure. There is no reason for delay. After all, thirteen years to provide citizens with drinking water is not enough, but three days to shut them up are more than enough.