The US can no longer ignore Albania

By Nikola Kedhi - Newsmax

In a region defined by instability and historical resentment, Albania has proven to be one of America's strongest allies.

From its early support for NATO to its unwavering alignment with Washington in the Balkans, Albania has consistently been on the side of the transatlantic community.

But loyalty alone does not ensure democracy. A decade of socialist rule has led to institutional breakdown, mass emigration, authoritarianism, and growing public disillusionment.

The time has come for a conservative alternative, rooted in democratic change, strong and stable institutions, free markets, and family values.

The Democratic Party of Albania (DP), the traditional champion of anti-communist freedom and Euro-Atlantic integration, is preparing to come to power. Its platform, recently presented in Tirana, is a revolutionary vision: economic freedom through supply-side reforms, flat taxes, deregulation; pro-family policies to address the demographic crisis; investments in law and order, defense, energy independence, and curbing bureaucratic overreach.

It is an unapologetically conservative platform, a long-term historical alternative to make Albania a model of democracy and capitalism.

This vision is not driven by ideology, but by necessity. Albania is going through a national survival crisis. More than 1.1 million people have left the country since 2013. The birth rate has fallen. Youth unemployment and corruption are endemic.

The judicial system, hijacked by the Soros network under the guise of 'reform,' selectively silences the opposition while protecting government loyalists. Institutions once touted as anchors of democracy have been emptied, replaced by a facade of legalism.

The conservative opposition has endured throughout. Sali Berisha, a conservative statesman and former president and prime minister of Albania, who brought the country into NATO and lifted visa regimes with the EU, has endured political persecution of a kind not seen in a European democracy.

He returned to active politics to save his party and his country, after more than eight years away from any official position. In 2021, Berisha was banned from entering the US, a move now widely seen as politically motivated and lobbied by Soros and the prime minister, and discredited by many American conservatives.

Once praised by the US for his anti-corruption efforts, Berisha now benefits from growing support among American and European conservatives who see the Biden-era sanctions process as abused and consider Berisha the statesman Albania needs to save it.

On May 8, Axios White House Correspondent Marc Caputo published a State Department statement on Berisha's sanctions, effectively nullifying the non grata status:

"We regularly grant exemptions to facilitate travel of certain individuals to the U.S. in accordance with international obligations and our national interests. As such, we will not allow our foreign policy interests or relationship with Albania to be held hostage by the politicized decisions of the Biden era."

However, Berisha has demonstrated leadership of a revitalized conservative base. His movement has endured state repression, media censorship, and international neglect.

This insistence is not simply personal, it is an expression of a social force, a demand of the Albanian people for dignity, sovereignty and the restoration of democratic order. The conservative movement he leads has overcome unimaginable obstacles and has managed to unite the opposition and sensitize the international community.

Now, they seem poised to lead Albania into what they call a golden age, heavily influenced by the Reagan and Trump revolutions. In fact, Mr. Berisha was the first and only opposition leader in Europe to support President Trump and has spoken out against Trump’s political persecution, mirroring Berisha’s.

Washington has a vested interest in fostering this democratic growth. Albania is one of the last deeply pro-American strongholds in Southeast Europe. Its regional influence, military bases, and ports are strategic assets at a time of growing Russian and Chinese influence in the Balkans.

However, the United States has too often confused loyalty to individuals with loyalty to democratic principles. In Albania's current situation and the geopolitical challenges facing the region, a statesman with pro-Western experience is needed to ensure continued Euro-Atlantic integration.

Berisha, often accused of being too pro-American, is one of the few who connects European center-right traditions with conservative American values.

A new conservative government in Tirana would refocus the country on the values ​​that initially drew Albania to the West: limited government, private property, intact families, and free markets - all in line with the agenda of the new Trump administration, which would find in a Berisha government a reliable ally on the Old Continent.

The DP platform suggests a drastic reduction in the tax code, easing the burden on small businesses, and attracting investments from the diaspora.