Berisha does not enter a protest as the attractive opposition, but as the dominant one

In one of his more honest reflections on December 1990, Neritan Ceka was asked how, with so many intellectual figures involved in the movement, Sali Berisha still ended up taking the Democratic Party from them and driving them out.

By then no longer bitter toward Berisha, Ceka answered plainly:

“He had experience. He had spent years as a party secretary. He knew what politics was and what a party was. We simply did not want communism anymore. That is why he defeated all of us.”

That explanation still applies today.

The mixed protest that began over the flamingos of Narta has turned Albania into a stage for a global battle against President Donald Trump. The real heart of the protest in Albania is the only genuine thing about it, because it has nothing to do with flamingos or Trump. It has to do with the troubles of a generation that feels excluded.

But beyond the boulevard in Tirana, every other city in the world that “stands with” the flamingos is really hosting an anti-Trump organisation that has found the Albanian red flag as its red rag against Trump.

This international battle against Trump, fought through Albania, does not harm the Albanian government. If anything, it helps it. It is easy to see who is organising the protests in Athens, Germany, Italy or Spain.

The only real protest against Edi Rama is the one in Tirana. It is the protest of a new generation of Albanians who found a way to reject the opposition and the government at the same time, after an arrogant incident in Vlora gave them the spark.

But after eight days, Berisha understood that leaving the field to them had been a serious mistake by the opposition. And he could no longer hold back. He started gradually, through a few MPs. Today he has called on all of them to join the protest.

This will not dramatically increase the numbers. The Democratic Party can no longer bring more than a thousand people, and together they may reach three or four thousand at most. But it will change the character of the protest.

Those who side with Iran and say Zvërnec will become Palestine, or those who side with Albin Kurti and say Kosovo will take over Albania to protect the flamingos, are now facing a professional who knows how to turn this protest into politics.

And he gave them the chance. He gave them eight days to choose a leader, so he could deal with that leader. They did not listen. Now he has decided to enter the protest himself.

The United States showed him no gratitude for refusing to join a protest against the Trump family. No signal on lifting the non grata designation. No thank-you. In the end, there was no reason for him to die non grata and humiliated by a generation that wants to take from him the only valuable property he still has registered and unblocked: the Democratic Party.

That is why he is in the square today.

Anyone who thinks they can embarrass him, insult him or shame him is wrong. He was not embarrassed even in 1990, when the students wanted to drive him out on December 10 as Ramiz Alia’s envoy. He took the insults patiently, sat on a bench in the corridor and said to himself: “Fine. We will meet again.”

The same thing is happening today.

The protest is now more serious because it has at least one identifiable political limb, alongside several unclear groups. Within this opposition, Berisha is the biggest, the clearest and, if elections were held, the most likely to win compared with the others who might compete.

From today, he is neither with Ivanka’s project nor with the flamingos. He is in the square against Edi Rama, together with Generation Z. He had spent a whole year asking them to join him, but they would not come, because he frightens them much as Kushner supposedly frightens the flamingos.

Now they either endure him like the flamingos, hoping he behaves well, or they give him the platform.

Berisha does not come to a protest as the attractive opposition. He comes as the dominant one.

If they are still unclear about that, they should listen to Neritan Ceka explain how Berisha took the Democratic Party from them in 1990.

Originally published in Albanian as: Berisha nuk shkon në protestë si opozitë e bukur, por si opozitë e madhe