Prime Minister Edi Rama has acknowledged Tuesday the Democratic Party (DP) as a worthy opponent in the April 25 parliamentary elections, saying that they were not easy to defeat and that they deserve ruling majority’s respect.

Publicly, the existing and future Head of Government in Albania extended the hand of cooperation to DP’s Chair, Lulzim Basha or whoever gets to lead the DP as he stressed that he wants to be PM of the Socialists and Democrats, those who voted for him, but also those who did not vote for him.

“Lulzim Basha and PD made the best campaign in the history of their losses. They were more of a team than in any other time and beyond any traditional excess, things that damaged and damage their strength, the Democrats were not so easy opponents this time, that they deserve our respect.

I tell them honestly that they could not do more than that, they even did more than they could normally do. Because beating the SP is just as impossible as beating Milan, Inter and Barcelona. I am not talking about Juventus, because this was the exclusive year of the Socialists.

My sincere message to Basha is this: accept the loss with dignity, because you could not do as much as you wanted, but did as much as you could. The non-timely acceptance of this not at all embarrassing loss, increases the size of the loss that PD achieved on Sunday against SP.

Democrat friends, we are the best, you are the best after us. This is a fact. It is not up to me and it is not our responsibility and right to decide how you will read the result. Whether or not Basha will lead the DP, this is your job, but with or without Lulzim Basha, we are clear that our only opposition is the DP”, highlighted PM Rama among other things.