Leaked letter of Albanian ambassador to Washington sparks debate about the ability of the diplomatic service to conduct its most basic duties, facing challenges in funding, personnel and management.
TIRANA, March 14, 2013- A leaked angry letter over lack of funds at the Albanian embassy in Washington has sparked debate over the state of the country’s diplomatic service and its ability to its job.
In a letter to his superiors in Tirana, Ambassador Gilbert Galanxhi, who heads one of Albania’s most strategic missions abroad, sheds light into a tough environment for Albanian diplomats abroad, where the meager funding they receive from the government can’t guarantee even the most basic activity of a diplomatic representative.
Placing diplomatic language on the back burner, Tirana’s top man in Washington uses strong words to describe the fact that the embassy can’t afford to pay for rent, a car and cleaning services.
The letter, which comes in response to the budget allocated to the embassy for 2013, chides the ministry for suggesting the embassy should simply skip paying its bills.
“It would be better that I be authorized not to leave the residence at all, because there is no way, financially, that I can do my job,” Ambassador Galanxhi writes.
Experts say that if the situation is so dire in what is one of Albania’s most important missions abroad, it is very likely that other diplomatic missions face similar challenges at Albania’s 55 embassies across the globe.
Economic crisis cuts budget
Albanian Foreign Minister Edmond Panariti said in a press conference that he had been aware of the situation, and had raised similar concerns with the prime minister, noting the budget for diplomatic activities has been cut due to the effects of the economic crisis on the state budget. Panariti said that despite such difficulties, the government will guarantee that the normal functioning continues at Albania’s embassies abroad.
He said this problem is not unique to Albania, and that many other countries are closing down some of their embassies due to the economic crisis. However, Panariti added Tirana would continue to properly operate with its embassies all around the globe and especially those based in the capitals of official strategic partners — the United States and the European Union, the bloc Albania hopes to join in the future.
“Let me assure you that the Foreign Ministry, despite its limited budget, for the reasons I mentioned a little earlier, will guarantee the normal functioning of embassies and diplomatic service in the countries in which it is represented, of course, with an advantage given to our main centers in the U.S., in Brussels and at the United Nations “.
Panariti implied that the situation was not entirely in his hands, but said the solution would be institutional.
“I’ve made my concerns known about the insufficient budget long ago,” he said, adding he had sought support at the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs, the government and the Ministry of Finance. “These issues require an institutional solution. The budget is transparent, it is public you can consult at any time the funds allocated to the ministry, for the diplomatic service coverage issues. We are open, so we have nothing to hide. ”
Political debate follows
The lack of funding for the Albanian embassy to the United States has turned into a hot political potato for the government and into a great concern for the public opinion in the country.
In the letter, Galanxhi writes the embassy has already spent its funding, excluding rent and salaries, for the entire year in the first two months, and it had only $12 left. Critics have also accused the government of leaving the embassy building in ruins, because the government has allocated no money to renovate the building, bought for $2 million in a prestigious area of Washington in the 1990s. The embassy currently operates on rented space in office building.
Part of the controversy relates to the fact that the government has funded lobbying firms in Washington at the tune of $1.5 million to improve its image with the U.S. authorities, which further intensified criticism when Panariti acknowledged that the bad situation was primarily due to limitations in the government budget.
Lobbying spending probed
The minister did not explain why the Albanian government on the other hand, despite the crisis, has spent hundred of thousands contracting lobbying companies.
The opposition accused the government of first worrying about paying the private lobbying groups and forgetting that the country’s official diplomacy should be the priority.
Several Albania media reported that the government has paid some $1.5 million to two of Washington’s most powerful lobbying firms — Podesta Group and Patton Boggs — to lobby and improve the country’s image in the United States.
The opposition has long complained that such a move is not made for the country but specifically for the governing Democratic Party and Prime Minister Sali Berisha himself.
Other political parties like the New Democratic Spirit also criticized the government saying that the Washington embassy scandal is show the dramatic situation in the diplomacy.
Experts: Other problems abound
Funding is not the only problem Albania’ diplomatic service faces, experts say, but the service’s structure also affects how funding is used. Despite the progress made in reforming Albania’s foreign service, it still reflects the same problem as the rest of this country’s state bureaucracy.
Critics worry that many Albanian embassies abroad, for example, are filled with party activists, relatives, close friends or people who hail from the same part of Albania as the people in power. Those with the right connections are appointed to Albanian embassies in desirable locations such as top European capitals regardless of their ability to do the job and lack of the right educational background — sometimes regardless of whether they are needed where they are sent, increasing unnecessary costs to the limited budget.
There is a law that regulates Albanian foreign service, but the law is often ignored, according to analysts. In addition, the same law, which is based on the best modern international standards, political appointments at embassies should not exceed 15 percent of the staff. The focus is mainly on the ambassadors in this case. But what usually happens in reality is that political appointments actually make up far more than that number.
Applying the best criteria in recruitment, clearing the foreign service of party activists and those who received the posts unfairly and performing structural reforms could improve things, analysts note.
As a tiny country, Albania might not need all the embassies it currently has and it could shift manpower where needed: replacing many of the current staff in certain key European capitals with fewer and more capable and talented people can help cut costs, experts say.
There has been some good tradition in the diplomatic service with a group of diplomats who have been immune from political changes in the government. Unfortunately this group has started to decline under pressure of the wrong politics. Building back on that tradition could also help strengthen Albania’s presence abroad, analysts note.
