'Huffington Post': Things are not going well for Edi Rama

By Guilio Ucciero, HUFFINGTON POST

MAGA: “Make Albania Great Again.” Forget the deal with Italy for migrant centers, relegated to the back pages of local newspapers.

Elections are approaching in Albania, the mayor of Tirana – a man very close to Edi Rama – has been arrested and the main opposition party aims to defeat the socialist prime minister by playing the Trumpism card: The Democrats, Rama's rivals, led by former president Sali Berisha, have hired Chris LaCivita as their strategist.

He is Donald Trump's guru, responsible for the tycoon's winning campaign in the United States: "Rama is a Soros puppet," LaCivita made it clear immediately. A business card in pure sovereignist style, a sign that the MAGA wave has arrived in the Balkans.

Things are not going well for Rama. As he makes space among the works of art, small sculptures and paintings painted by himself between one meeting and the next, the Albanian prime minister shakes his head. And not for the protocols with Italy, which Giorgia Meloni, after the triple NO from justice, seeks to change by transforming the hotspots into CPR (permanent centers and repatriation). Rama's internal front is exploding.

First, SPAK, the anti-corruption body, indicted Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj and put him in prison. Then, Berisha’s Democratic Party announced that US President Donald Trump’s campaign manager, Christopher “Chris” LaCivita, would lead their campaign ahead of the May 11 elections.

A former Marine in Iraq, consultant to several generations of American Republicans, LaCivita played a key role in President Trump's re-election in November.

After the case was closed, now from Richmond, Virginia, LaCivita flew to Tirana to subvert the Albanian opposition's strategy and overthrow Rama.

“We want to help elect a prime minister who is a true friend of the United States and who will work successfully with President Trump and the United States,” the American strategist said, as Berisha smiled at his side at the press conference. Phrase, phrase, pose: the Albanian Democrats, who are right-wing here, are copying the tycoon. The first attempt against Rama by LaCivita leaves no doubt: “The current prime minister is nothing more than a puppet of George Soros.”

The rival's association with the Hungarian financier, a true enemy of the right in Central Europe and the Western Balkans, made Berisha & co burst with joy. So much so that the former prime minister repeated the same words in Parliament: "Rama should resign, he is a Soros puppet."

The "Sorosian" label that has been applied to Rama has already entered the vocabulary of Albanian democrats. "Berisha knows that in order to win, he must show himself to be the most American candidate", informed sources explain. After welcoming LaCivita, described at the conference as "the man who had the great fortune to speak to the American nation from Mar-a-Lago", Berisha knows that the path to governance passes through two decisive steps.

First of all, with the skills of the MAGA guru, a strong electoral blow must be dealt to Rama, especially now that he is in difficulty due to the arrest of his man in Tirana. Then, even more importantly, he must create a real connection with Trump. Already president of Albania in the nineties, then prime minister from 2005 to 2013, in 2021 Berisha was designated “persona non grata” by the United States, by order of the Biden administration. The former American president sanctioned him along with his wife for involvement in a system of corruption in Albania.

A scheme orchestrated by Rama together with Soros is the explanation of the democratic inner circle. LaCivita himself has no doubts: “Berisha, like Donald Trump, was persecuted by the government. I am here to help, we can make Albania great again.”

Meanwhile, at the government headquarters, Rama loses his temper on Instagram (in his daily column, he closed yesterday's broadcast by shouting "go away...", only to later apologize). In general, the socialist who likes sovereignists no longer wants to hear about centers in Albania. Rama did his best at an aperitif with Prime Minister Meloni, on her birthday he honored her with a traditional Albanian veil at the Saudi Arabia summit, called her "friend" during triumphant interviews in the Italian and European media, went to Atreyu for her, antagonized the European socialists. And now he risks losing. To whom? To the Trumpians of Albania.

Rama is not there. Think about the upcoming vote and leave aside the disagreements over migrants between the Italian government and the judges. HuffPost was told that his priorities “today and in the coming months will be very different.” “The centers? These are not electoral issues – Albanian sources clarify – and the polls, which still give Rama the lead, could change after the arrest of the mayor of Tirana. He is considered his number two.” The last twenty-four hours have shaken the Albanian political landscape. For Rama, however, the worst seems to be yet to come. Albania could become a MAGA branch in the Balkans.