The Alliance of Albanians is in turmoil, as its leader Arben Taravari is oscilating between Tirana and Pristina, between DUI and joining the opposition Albanian bloc.

Yesterday Taravari met with Kosovan Prime Minister Albin Kurti, along with the other top leaders of the Albanian opposition – Bilal Kasami, Izet Mexhiti and Afrim Gashi. It’s widely reported that Kurti is trying to put together a bloc that will challenge DUI, and will follow his anti-corruption message, while standing up to his rival, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.

This move could upset DUI’s scheme to join SDSM in a pre-election coalition (that would ideally for them include the Alliance of Albanians as well) and would try to reach a draw in the electoral battle against VMRO-DPMNE, which dominates SDSM in the polls. An important part of the plan is that DUI supports the SDSM candidate for President but DUI leader Ali Ahmeti warned that this could collapse if the Albanian opposition runs its own candidate, who would likely win the majority of the Albanian vote in the first round of the elections, which could then translate into an advantage for the opposition bloc against DUI-SDSM in the general elections. Following the meeting with Kurti, the opposition parties issued a statement declaring that a key point of discussion was nominating a presidential candidate. Ahmeti called on Kurti to publicly declare whether he will challenge him in Macedonia.

Following his return to Skopje, Taravari today met with Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski and, reportedly, met with VMRO-DPMNE President Hristijan Mickoski. Shortly after the meetings, Albanian language media outlets began briefing the public that a faction within the Alliance of Albanians, led by its previous leader Ziadin Sela, will try to unseat Taravari.

Taravari joined the Government only a year ago, after previously establishing itself as the largest Albanian opposition party. Taravari and a close confidant of his bought heavily discounted houses in a pricey part of Skopje from a top DUI linked businessman previous to this change of allegiance, but his stay in the ruling coalition undermined the appeal of the Alliance of Albanians, and the other oppositon parties, BESA and the Movement for Change have benefited, so Taravari is under pressure to keep his party relevant and re-join the opposition. All the other parties in the opposition bloc spent some time in coalition with SDSM and DUI, after leaving it, or being kicked out, they are capitalizing on the ability to criticize DUI and its frequent corruption scandals.

SDSM is desperate to prevent the further growth of the Albanian opposition bloc, and is briefing the public that US diplomats will pressure the Albanian parties to renounce any possibility of joining VMRO-DPMNE in a post-election coalition, and to demand that VMRO votes for the constitutional amendments that Bulgaria insists Macedonia must adopt. US diplomats have made statements in this direction, but their leverage over Kurti seems to be weak after years of feuding with the populist Kosovan Prime Minister, and so far his project continues.