One more news for the man who destroyed the institution of elections in Albania

Mrs. Glover, the undefeated expert of Albanian elections since 1996, perhaps would not have been as popular as she is, were it not for Sali Berisha in Albanian politics. Her determination to discredit the 1996 elections and her resistance in the face of diplomatic pressure are the first serious blows that Sali Berisha has received in the international arena, which then resulted in his isolation until he had to leave power in 1997 with the country caught in the flames of civil confrontation.

In his typical Albanian fashion, Berisha tried to build several conspiracy theories regarding Mrs. Glover. The “most believable” one was the one found by Genc Pollo after a long research in international newspapers, which stated that she had worked in the 1998 electoral campaign of Presidential candidate, Michael Dukakis. According to this conspiracy theory, Dukakis belonged to the Greek lobby in the United States and therefore Mrs. Glover had been recruited by the Greeks against Sali Berisha.

While it all sounds rather banal today, it was all that Berisha and his staff could find. Imagine for a moment Genc Pollo’s sneaky portrait, writing this “fact” on yellow sticky notes in order for Berisha to use in the future and enjoy the storm of attacks. From that moment on, every time Sali Berisha faces decisive elections, Mrs. Glover appears silent, stern and cynical in her mission as observer.

However, this Monday was a special day for Sali Berisha. At the peak of international isolation, Mrs. Glover knocked on his office door. Imagine for a moment that, the man who in 1996 refused to meet the United States Deputy Secretary of State, Timothy Worth because of Mrs. Glover’s report, now is happy that his old enemy is knocking on his door.

We are all aware that meeting with all electoral actors is rather a formal procedure for the head of the UN observing mission. Furthermore, we are aware of what both, Berisha and Glover think of each other. There is no mystery in this technical meeting, except for the cynicism of Mrs. Glover, who now has the chance to create news about the man for whom she has been a dedicated enemy.

Naturally, Mrs. Glover never reacted emotionally, despite Berisha’s attacks and his accusations that she was an enemy of Albania and neither his she making any comments now. By knocking on his door in his worst days, when Berisha is isolated and boycotted by the international community, Mrs. Glover is aware of the fact that Berisha can celebrate her visit just as much as a sheep can celebrate a wolve’s visit. This is a visit that shows what has become 27 years after the first elections manipulated by Sali Berisha. He continues to suffer the consequences of a confrontation against the United States, ODIHR and Albania’s democracy 27 years ago. In order to fully comprehend what is happening, we needed Mrs. Glover’s visit, who apparently has made it her mission to record every bad political behaviour from Sali Berisha.