Koçek speaks to Euractiv, "hits" Rama: The government has no legitimacy, Brussels should not see it as the only voice of the country

Marjana Koçeku has issued strong criticism of Prime Minister Edi Rama and the European Union's approach to Albania, in an interview with Euractiv , where she states that Brussels should stop treating Edi Rama as the country's only European voice.

"Rama is not Albania ," Koçek tells Euractiv.

Koçek left the Socialist Party last month, after concluding that he no longer had a place in it.

"I could no longer belong to a group that not only does not support the environment, but drafts policies that harm it," she says. "Yes, I have also supported the initiatives of my colleagues from the opposition, because I consider this my civil right."

On the streets of Albania, protesters have spent more than a month opposing the government's handling of proposed projects to develop luxury tourism near the Vjosa-Nartë wetland ecosystem – including projects linked to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law.

When the protests arrived in Tirana, they already had a name. People were calling them the "Flamingo Revolution," after the birds that inhabit that ecosystem, Euractiv writes.

The language of revolution also signifies an abrupt change in the way a generation understands power, representation, and the country's European future. "We believe in European values. But we do not support our prime minister and government ."

For Koçek, the protests highlight a long-standing crisis of legitimacy and a society tired of feeling left out of decision-making in its name. Decisions related to non-transparent permits, private interests, and limited public consultation.

"There is no longer any legitimacy, neither for the government nor for the traditional opposition. They have shown that they only work for a small group of interests."

The clash of narratives

On the other hand, Koçek criticizes Rama's reaction to the protests, accusing him of trying to present them as a threat to the European integration process. 

" He is using the media to create the belief that, if we protest, we are damaging the entire process and the trust of the European Union ," Koceku replies. But, according to her, it is clear that "our politicians have completely lost touch with reality."

The prime minister himself has portrayed the protests as exaggerated by opponents, influencers and online activists, calling them "digital hysteria" and "an imaginary revolution."

When asked whether the protests have damaged Albania's European integration process, Koçek first focuses on the very way the question was raised.

The EU has often presented enlargement as a process based on reform, stability and institutional progress. Governments submit reports, ministers meet with European commissioners.

However, this approach risks confusing the state with society and the leader with the country. "The EU must create direct links with citizens, as European integration should not be just a bureaucratic process."

According to her, it is precisely the citizens who know the country better than anyone in power, because they can show whether the reforms are really felt in everyday life.

A new generation in politics

Koçek formulates a broad critique of the government, the opposition, the media, and the political culture that has shaped post-communist Albania. But her story is also personal.

She entered Parliament at a young age, winning her seat in 2025, when she was just 24. She had never imagined a career in politics. Before becoming an MP, she founded a sustainability and community movement in northern Albania called Neomalsore.

Koçek studied international relations and political science in Italy and, like many young Albanians, hoped to find work there.

But when she was given the opportunity to join Rama's Socialist Party, she saw it as an obligation and an opportunity to set an example.

Koçek comes from a region that, she says, has been historically underrepresented, where women and young people have traditionally had few opportunities. If she could do it, she believed others could too.

However, after joining the party, she began to feel that internal politics and a lack of transparency were creating problems. Koçek says that, ultimately, the way the party functions is also "an instrument that shows how the state is shaped."

Her break from the Socialist Party occurred gradually and then suddenly, as the protests continued.

"People will stand and not forget," she says, arguing that the protests should force the government to reflect deeply on "the way it passes laws and for what purpose they are drafted."

"The younger generation is much more politically cultured and much more European than the political elite." And this, according to Koçek, is the Albania that Brussels needs to see.