Erion Braçe
Erion Braçe | |
|---|---|
| Deputy Prime Minister of Albania | |
| In office 17 January 2019 – 18 September 2021 | |
| President | Ilir Meta |
| Prime Minister | Edi Rama |
| Preceded by | Senida Mesi |
| Succeeded by | Arben Ahmetaj |
| Member of the Albanian Parliament | |
| Assumed office 26 May 1996 | |
| Constituency | Tirana County |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 2 April 1972 |
| Party | Socialist Party |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | University of Tirana |
| Occupation | Politician, journalist |
| Signature | .svg.png) |
Erion Braçe (born 2 April 1972) is an Albanian politician, former journalist and senior member of the Socialist Party of Albania. He has served as a member of the Parliament of Albania since 1996 and was Deputy Prime Minister of Albania in the Rama II Government from January 2019 to September 2021.[1][2]
Braçe is one of the longest-serving Socialist MPs in post-communist Albania. He has been a member of the Socialist Party's General Steering Committee since 1994, served as deputy chair of FRESSH, and has held senior parliamentary roles, including chair of the Committee on Economy and Finance.[1] His political profile has combined loyalty to the Socialist Party and Prime Minister Edi Rama's governments with periodic public criticism of corruption, construction interests, price abuses, public administration and internal party democracy.[3][4]
His career has also been marked by controversy. Critics have linked him politically to the wider Rama-era system of concentrated power, clientelist party politics and corruption scandals, especially because of his role as a senior Socialist legislator and former deputy prime minister. He has not been publicly convicted of corruption or organised-crime offences. Controversies involving him have mainly concerned his political defence of the Fier incinerator, his comments on SPAK's incinerator investigations, the 2025 patronageist/electoral-office incident in Tirana, and his response to anti-government protests during the 2026 Flamingo Revolution.[5][6][7]
Early life and journalism
Braçe was born in Tirana on 2 April 1972. He studied at the Faculty of Economy of the University of Tirana, specialising in economics and finance, between 1990 and 1994.[1]
Before and during the early part of his political career, Braçe worked as a journalist for Zëri i Popullit, the newspaper historically associated with the Socialist Party. According to the Socialist Party's official biography, he worked as an editor at the newspaper from 1993 to 1997 and as editor-in-chief from 1998 to 2008.[1]
Political career
Early parliamentary career
Braçe became a member of the Socialist Party's General Steering Committee in 1994 and also served as deputy chair of the Socialist Youth Forum, FRESSH.[1] He was first elected to the Parliament of Albania in 1996 and has been re-elected in successive legislatures.[1]
He has served for several legislatures on the parliamentary Committee on Economy and Finance and chaired the committee during the eighth and ninth legislatures.[1] He also participated in parliamentary investigative commissions, including the commission on the Prosecutor General and a commission investigating state-budget expenditures by ministries, subordinate institutions and public enterprises through public procurement after 2001.[1]
Deputy Prime Minister
On 28 December 2018, Prime Minister Edi Rama announced Braçe as the new Deputy Prime Minister, replacing Senida Mesi, as part of a broader cabinet reshuffle after the 2018 student protests.[8][9] He took office in January 2019 after a presidential decree.[1]
As deputy prime minister, Braçe was publicly active on issues including agriculture, food prices, informal markets, emergency response and local services. During the September 2019 earthquake, he said that state institutions were on standby to assist citizens and that emergency structures were prepared to respond.[10] He was also visible during the response to the 2019 Albania earthquake of 26 November 2019, one of the most serious natural disasters in post-communist Albania.[2]
In August 2021, shortly before the formation of the Rama III Government, Braçe signalled that he would leave the deputy prime minister's post. Albanian Daily News reported that he announced the end of his service in the post through a social-media message referring to his 24 years of public contribution.[2] He was replaced by Arben Ahmetaj in Rama's third cabinet.[11]
Later parliamentary activity
After leaving the deputy premiership, Braçe remained a Socialist MP and became increasingly known for public criticism of economic abuses, agricultural policy, construction in Tirana and local-governance problems. In 2023, he publicly criticised high prices and called for price reductions, arguing that markets had stabilised after earlier price increases related to war and supply shocks.[12]
In 2026, Braçe publicly expressed interest in running for mayor of Tirana, challenging the Socialist Party leadership's preference for another candidate. Albanian Daily News reported that he signalled a bid for the capital's leadership and called for support from Socialist Party members in Tirana.[13] Vox News reported that Braçe said he did not want to become mayor "to sit like a puppet" and criticised the lack of civic standards in Tirana's construction industry.[14]
Political positions and public profile
Braçe is considered one of the Socialist Party's most recognisable and long-serving parliamentary figures. He is known for a confrontational speaking style, frequent public interventions on social media and a focus on economic, agricultural and local-governance issues.
Although he has remained part of the Socialist Party and has served in Rama's government, Braçe has also publicly criticised aspects of Socialist governance. BalkanWeb described him in 2025 as one of the few "free voices" inside the party, arguing that he continued to speak critically in an environment where internal debate had weakened.[15] In 2026, VNA reported that Braçe criticised both the governance of Tirana and the lack of democracy inside the Socialist Party, saying the party had become like "a wall where announcements are posted" rather than a structure with competition and democratic processes.[16]
Role in the Rama era
Braçe's career has been closely tied to the long period of Socialist Party rule under Edi Rama. He served as a senior MP throughout Rama's premiership and as deputy prime minister from 2019 to 2021. His role has therefore placed him inside the governing majority during a period when Albania has been criticised by international observers for clientelist politics, weak checks and balances, corruption and concerns over electoral integrity.
Freedom House has described Albania's national governance as democratic but dominated by clientelist party politics and individual personalities, and has stated that elections are competitive but frequently marred by vote-buying, manipulation, fraud and gerrymandering.[17] Freedom House's Freedom in the World reports have also described Albania as "Partly Free", while noting that corruption and bribery remain major problems.[18]
Opposition figures have often described Rama's rule as increasingly authoritarian and corrupt, while Socialist figures, including Braçe, have pointed to economic growth, EU accession progress, justice reform and anti-corruption institutions as evidence of reform. Braçe's own position has been ambivalent: he has defended major Socialist policies and government projects, while also criticising corruption, local-government failures and construction interests from within the ruling party.
Controversies
Fier incinerator and waste-management controversy
Braçe has been a prominent defender of the Fier waste-treatment plant and incinerator project, one of the projects connected to Albania's wider incinerator controversy. In August 2021, while serving as deputy prime minister, he apologised to residents of Fier after a fire at the city's old waste site and said that a new page should open for waste treatment in the region through the landfill and incinerator, which he said were ready to begin operation.[19]
In February 2023, after the incinerator scandal had become one of Albania's central corruption controversies, Braçe said that the Fier and Elbasan incinerators were being kept closed because of political pressure and accusations. He said that incineration had been the right solution for waste in several Albanian cities and that the Fier incinerator was a major investment that should not be blocked.[5]
In the same interview, Braçe argued that SPAK's investigations into the incinerators had been diverted and that politicians had become the main actors in the prosecution process. He said that political reports could divert investigations and described such diversion as obstruction of justice.[5] Critics viewed such comments as political pressure on anti-corruption investigations, while Braçe argued that responsibility should be established through facts and that the functioning of waste-treatment infrastructure should not be blocked by political accusations.[5]
The broader incinerator scandal involved allegations of corrupt concessions, public-procurement abuses and payments through fictitious invoices. Braçe himself has not been publicly charged in relation to the scandal.
2025 patronageist and electoral-office incident
During the 2025 Albanian parliamentary election, opposition-aligned media reported an incident at an electoral office in Tirana involving Socialist Party supporters described by critics as "patronageists". BoldNews reported that people inside the office left before police arrived and that Braçe later told the media that the people in the office were his friends.[6]
Braçe rejected claims of vote-buying and said the premises had been inspected. He accused political opponents of trying to prevent Socialist activists from carrying out electoral activity and described the opposition's actions as an attempt by a "criminal gang" to keep Socialists at home and stop political activity.[6] The incident was reported in the context of wider criticism of the Socialist Party's use of patronage networks and electoral mobilisation. No public judicial finding against Braçe was reported in connection with the incident.
Response to the Flamingo Revolution
During the 2026 Flamingo Revolution, an anti-government protest movement that began over coastal development projects and expanded into broader demonstrations against corruption and Rama's government, Braçe defended the police and criticised violent actions by some protesters. On 30 June 2026, after clashes outside parliament, he said that attacks on police officers were more serious than attacks on MPs because they undermined the authority of the state.[7]
Braçe said that if police had detained or planned to detain people because they had thrown eggs at his car, they were making a mistake because he could resolve his own issues. He said his main concern was violence against state police and argued that if the police fall, the state falls.[7] Critics of the government viewed such statements as part of a wider Socialist effort to delegitimise the protest movement, while Braçe and other government figures argued that violent incidents around the parliament threatened public order.[7]
Public rhetoric and confrontational style
Braçe's political style has often been confrontational. He has used strong language against political opponents, local officials and protesters, and has frequently engaged in disputes on social media. In 2023, during a dispute over waste management in Divjakë, he defended the transfer of waste to the Fier plant and used harsh language against critics after an audio recording involving the mayor of Divjakë circulated online.[20]
Supporters regard his style as direct and independent, while critics describe it as aggressive and polarising.
Public statements on corruption and justice
Braçe has often spoken publicly about corruption and justice issues. In July 2024, he called the 21 January 2011 killings a state-organised crime and urged SPAK to call witnesses to cooperate in the investigation.[21]
He has also criticised price abuse and market manipulation, especially in food and agriculture. These interventions have contributed to his image as one of the more socially outspoken figures inside the Socialist Party, even while remaining a long-serving member of the governing majority.
Personal life
Braçe is married and has two children, a daughter and a son.[1]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Erion Braçe". Socialist Party of Albania. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Deputy Prime Minister, Erjon Brace 'Resigns'". Albanian Daily News. 25 August 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
- ↑ "Braçe: I will not become mayor to sit like a puppet, but I want standards! Builders do not care about Tirana". Vox News. 2 April 2026. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
- ↑ "Erion Braçe, the powerful free voice in the Socialist Party". BalkanWeb. 17 November 2025. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 "Erion Braçe says it bluntly: In SPAK, the investigations about the incinerators were diverted, Ahmetaj was saved". Vox News. 6 February 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Patronazhistët ikën me vrap para se të vinte policia, Erion Braçe: Janë shokët e mi". BoldNews (in Albanian). 11 May 2025. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 "Erion Braçe: Ajo që ndodhi sot para Kuvendit është e rëndë, ra shteti jo se u sulmuan deputetët, por u goditën policët". Vox News (in Albanian). 30 June 2026. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
- ↑ "Erion Brace appointed as new Deputy Prime Minister". Albanian Telegraphic Agency. 28 December 2018. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
- ↑ "Erion Braçe zv/kryeministër/ Të gjithë ministrat që ikin dhe emrat e rinj". Gazeta Telegraf (in Albanian). 28 December 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- ↑ "Deputy PM: Government holding urgent meeting after earthquake". Top Channel. 21 September 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
- ↑ "Who are the new ministers of Rama's 3rd-term cabinet?". Euronews Albania. 2 September 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
- ↑ "Erion Braçe i revoltuar për rritjen e çmimeve: Boll rropët njerëzit. A jeni në terezi?!". Gazeta Tema (in Albanian). 21 May 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
- ↑ "Braçe Signals Bid for Tirana Mayor as Socialist Backing Comes into Focus". Albanian Daily News. 29 March 2026. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
- ↑ "Braçe: I will not become mayor to sit like a puppet, but I want standards! Builders do not care about Tirana". Vox News. 2 April 2026. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
- ↑ "Erion Braçe, the powerful free voice in the Socialist Party". BalkanWeb. 17 November 2025. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
- ↑ "Erion Braçe criticizes the governance of Tirana and proposes himself as the solution". VNA. 15 May 2026. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
- ↑ "Albania: Nations in Transit 2024 Country Report". Freedom House. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
- ↑ "Albania: Freedom in the World 2026 Country Report". Freedom House. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
- ↑ "Brace apologizes to the residents of Fier: 5 bad days and 70 years with trash at the door". Politiko. 1 August 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
- ↑ "The audio recording of Gorre, Braçe returns to the citizen: Let the garbage bark, the caravan moves on". Hashtag.al. 16 August 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
- ↑ "21 janari, Erion Braçe për Report Tv: Krim shtetëror i organizuar, do dalin prova të reja nga dëshmitarët! SPAK t'u bëjë thirrje për bashkëpunim". Shqiptarja.com (in Albanian). 22 July 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2026.