# Socialist Party of Albania

The Socialist Party of Albania (Albanian: Partia Socialiste e Shqipërisë, PS or PSSh) is a social-democratic political party in Albania. It has been described as centre-left. It is the inheriting force of the Communist Party of Albania, which was founded on 8 November 1941 and later became known as the Party of Labour of Albania (Partia e Punës e Shqipërisë). After the fall of communism in Albania, the Party of Labour of Albania rebranded itself as the Socialist Party of Albania in an effort to adapt to the new political landscape. This is the reason why the Socialist Party is claimed to have been founded on 13 June 1991. The PS is an associate of the Party of European Socialists and a member of the Socialist International, and it claims to hold pro-European views.

## History

Established in 1991, the Socialist Party of Albania emerged in the aftermath of the fall of communism in Albania that had dominated Albanian politics since the end of World War II. The dissolution of the People's Socialist Republic prompted a reevaluation of political ideologies and a quest for democratic governance, paving the way for the rise of multiple political entities. The roots of the Socialist Party can be traced back to the Party of Labour of Albania under its founder Enver Hoxha, which had been the ruling party for over four decades. Hoxha's successor Ramiz Alia was forced to introduce limited reforms in the late 1980s. On 11 December 1990, Alia announced that the PPSh had given up its monopoly of power. The PPSh won the 1991 Albanian Constitutional Assembly election, the first free elections held in the country in almost 80 years. By this time, it was no longer a Marxist–Leninist party. At an extraordinary congress on 10–13 June 1991, the PPSh voted to change its name to the PS in an effort to survive in the new system.
Fatos Nano, a man from the intelligentsia, was elected the new chairman. Nano helped to reform the old Communist party and made it a member of the Socialist International. A faction of the party, led by Ilir Meta, split away from the PS in 2004 and formed the Socialist Movement for Integration (Lëvizja Socialiste për Integrim, LSI).
On 10 October 2005, Nano resigned as the chairman of the PS after losing the 2005 Albanian parliamentary election, and was succeeded by Edi Rama. Under Rama's lead, the PS formed the Alliance for a European Albania, which united several political parties. The alliance won the 2013 Albanian parliamentary election, thus returning the Socialists to the government after 8 years.
The Socialist Party, now running alone, again won the 2017 election and the 2021 election, winning 74 seats in both of them and is thus currently able to rule Albania alone, although it is externally supported by the Social Democratic Party in parliament.

## Political positions

In its 2013 party platform, the party has pledged to replace the flat tax with a progressive tax, and also supports universal health care. Party leader Edi Rama has indicated that he supports LGBT rights in Albania. The party is also pro-European, supports the accession of Albania to the European Union, NATO membership, and considers Kosovo "Albania's main strategic partner and ally". Rama has also said that he strives to follow the Third Way approach of former British prime minister Tony Blair.

## Organisation
### Logos

The current logo is based on the fist and rose logo in the version created by José María Cruz Novillo for the Spanish Socialist Workers Party in 1977. The PS logo is used without official consent and agreement with PSOE.
* 2013–2023

### Party leaders

| No. | President | President | Born–died | Term start | Term end | Time in office |
| 1 | Fatos Nano | | (born 1952) | 13 June 1991 | 10 October 2005 | 14 years, 119 days |
| 2 | Edvin Kristaq Rama | | (born 1964) | 10 October 2005 | Incumbent | 19 years, 156 days |

## Electoral performance
### Parliamentary elections

| Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Rank | Government |
| 1992 | 433,602 | 23.87 | 38 / 140 | 131 | 2nd | Opposition |
| 1996 | 335,402 | 20.37 | 10 / 140 | 28 | 2nd | Opposition |
| 1997 | 413,369 | 52.75 | 101 / 155 | 97 | 1st | Majority |
| 2001 | 555,272 | 42.27 | 73 / 140 | 28 | 1st | Majority |
| 2005 | 538,906 | 39.44 | 42 / 140 | 31 | 2nd | Opposition |
| 2009 | 620,586 | 40.85 | 65 / 140 | 23 | 1st | Opposition |
| 2013 | 713,407 | 41.36 | 65 / 140 | | 1st | Coalition |
| 2017 | 764,761 | 48.19 | 74 / 140 | 9 | 1st | Majority |
| 2021 | 768,177 | 48.68 | 74 / 140 | | 1st | Majority |