In the last couple of weeks, Albania has been surprisingly a recurrent word in world media due to the frequent and peppery appearances and interviews of its Prime Minister (PM) Edi Rama in important newspapers and TV channels with global audiences. During his visit to the United States, the PM showed up on CNN and Foreign Policy magazine to say that ‘God forbid’ Donald Trump became the Republican nominee America would suffer and furthermore that the relationships between Albania and US would be under stress should he win the Presidency.
Even though the Prime Minister put to words what many other European politicians might quietly think or feel, still this public declaration was noted down as a diplomatic blunder. Fast forward a few days and a little bit closer to home, the Brexit debate has incorporated Albania: used by the Remain camp to illustrate what misfortune would happen to the UK in case they would leave and used again by the Exit campaign to illustrate a potential relation UK could have with the EU as an outsider. The avalanche of articles that decried the latter position highlighted the plight of Albania as a country which still suffers from large scale poverty, corruption and underdevelopment.
Rama wrote an editorial for a UK newspaper which in principle was against dragging Albania in the British debate but in substance wasa medley of opinions finalized by the ‘pride’ to be part of the European Soccer Championship, hardly an achievement that has anything to do with the executive. Again on Skynews trying to squelch fears of immigration in Britain, he said ‘Albanian eagles would not blacken UK skies.’ Although he pretends to complain that Albania is part of this debate, Rama himself drew this upon the country when he joked in a Summit that Albania was ready to take Britain’s place in the EU, should the latter decide to part ways with the Union. This ‘spontaneous’ joke also became news.
Despite deriding the pompous tone of the Trump rhetoric, Rama is curiously using the same manners to get some attention in the world stage. Dramatic expressions, overblown literary phrases, controversial positions and unexpected strong words coupled with all the ostentation of a seasoned politician have landed Albania some attention. However one does not feel secure that this is for the right reasons. The analytics that follow these appearances always focus on Albania’s poor position in economy and rule of law. They also point out that the expressions see ‘untypical’ and out of the rulebooks. Contrary to the interpretation of the government press offices, this is not always a compliment. This behavior follows a new strategy that seems to be holding place in Albanian foreign policy: that of staging some theatrics to draw attention.
The same logic has applied to the latest potions on EU enlargement where both the PM and the Minister of Foreign Affairs have been (too) quick to declaim that should Albania be delayed in the process than negative phenomena such as religious radicalism, Turkish influence or else (insert negative thing that may sound bad to EU) can spiral up. This threat is a dangerous bluff. Albania can and should draw attention for the right reasons. It can boast of its religious harmony and coexistence rather than conjure the threat of extremism. The PM himself knows and has displayed the power of this harmonious narrative when he marched in Paris after the Charlie Hebdo attack flanked by the leaders of the religious confessions groups of Albania.
The two stories undermine each other and one needs to determine which should be the priority. Albanian foreign policy should focus on displaying better the results of the work being done in Albania for the integration reforms. The executive should focus on doing those reforms. No hidden threat or overture to others will ever work with the European Union. Being in flashy TV screens and glossy newspaper and magazines is very appealing and scintillating. However to borrow a truthful expression from the most famous British writer of them all: all that glitters is not gold.
