An internal Politburo document reveals ideological tensions and debates in the drafting of the 1976 Constitution, where Mehmet Shehu strongly opposes the “softening” of political language for the regime’s fundamental principles.
📜 The letter that was not read in public
On February 9, 1976, Mehmet Shehu sent a letter to Comrade Enver Hoxha and an official copy to Comrade Hekuran Isai, expressing his dissatisfaction with the wording of Article 11 of the draft Constitution that was being discussed among the people.
“No article of the draft Constitution explicitly mentions the principle of democratic centralism … The term is left to be implied, but not stated clearly. This is a principled deficiency that must be corrected.”
🧠 Foto Çami, the “rounded” philosopher?
In his letter, Mehmet Shehu directly accuses Foto Çami of hiding behind vague formulations and of trying to dilute the revolutionary content of the Constitution .
“Fotua is truly a philosopher, but there are principles that he is not clear about or will not accept… He only accepts them when they are imposed on him.”
He links this to Foto Çami’s previous stance at the Fourth Plenum, where according to him he considered conservatism to be the main danger , which according to Mehmeti indirectly meant: “Long live liberalism!”
🛑 Debate on the Dictatorship of the Proletariat
In one of the strongest parts of the letter, Mehmet Shehu criticizes efforts to avoid the term “Dictatorship of the Proletariat” and replace it with milder phrases such as:
“The People’s Socialist Republic of Albania is a state of workers’ and peasants’ cooperatives…” – which according to him is taken from the Soviet Constitution.
He emphasizes that this formula was unacceptable and that the Politburo rejected it in 1973:
“We must not hide or interpret the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, but proclaim it universally and clearly.”
✍️ His proposal for amending Article 11
Mehmet Shehu provides a reworded version of Article 11, adding:
“State organization and activity, political and economic life in the Republic of Albania are based on the principle of democratic centralism and develop according to it…”
He argues that the principle of democratic centralism should be declared openly and concretely , and not left to insinuations, because:
“We are dealing with the Constitution – the fundamental law of our socialist state.”
🧱 Another conflict between the hardline and the ideologically “liberal” one
This letter sheds light on the internal clashes in the Labor Party and the fear of ideological deviation , in a period when Albania was among the most isolated and orthodox countries in the application of socialism.
While figures like Foto Çami sought to use a “softer” or more technical language, Mehmet Shehu insisted on classical Marxist-Leninist terminology and the direct use of terms like “Dictatorship of the Proletariat” and “Democratic Centralism”.
