The leader of Albania’s Democratic Party, Sali Berisha, criticized the government’s proposed budget for 2025, claiming it prioritizes capital investments over the needs of citizens. During a press conference on Monday, he described the 8.2 billion euro budget as the largest in history, yet argued that it fails to reduce poverty, which has paradoxically increased alongside budget growth.
Berisha noted that the budget does not allocate sufficient funds for pensioners, with only 16 million euros set aside for approximately 800,000 individuals. He highlighted that this amount is inadequate, especially for the 62,000 families living in extreme poverty who receive economic assistance.
“The budget can be labeled in many ways, but it is undeniably a budget that punishes Albanian citizens,” Berisha stated. He further criticized the government for not adding any new medications to the reimbursement list for years, stressing that pensioners today receive lower purchasing power than they did a decade ago.
