First Deputy Prime Minister Artan Grubi is accused of hiring loyalists in his Political System Ministry, whose main task is to manage a network of news sites that report favorably about Grubi and his DUI party.

The bloc of opposition Albanian parties claim that these news sites, named Indeks, Dosie, Revista, Desk… operate from offices on the sixth floor of Grubi’s Government building. The sites are all registered under the name of Iliriana Bajrami, wife of Perparim Bajrami, a close confidant of Grubi who was recently named head of the State Lottery (and immediately began signing very lucrative contracts with companies linked to DUI).

Instead of using his Ministry for the benefit of the citizens, Grubi turned it into a propaganda machine that attacks his political opponents, said the European Alliance for Change, which unites the three main opposition Albanian parties – BESA, Alternative and Democratic Movement. The bloc calls on Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski to remove Grubi from office – a tall order given that Grubi is being announced as the actual Prime Minister at DUI party rallies, and Kovacevski refuses to rebuke him over it.