The contradictory positions harm Berisha's figure in his anti-American struggle

Recently Sali Berisha shared his promotional spot in the form of an “open letter” to Albanian citizens, showing his past meetings with US officials and the inauguration of the “Nation’s Highway,” a project that was developed by an American company. The same strategy is being followed by Berisha’s US lobbyist in Washington, who has justified receiving payments from him with the argument that Berisha used to be a pro-American politician in the past.

Even though I believe it is a good thing that Berisha is spending some of his money on lobbying, I still find it difficult to understand why he wants to use his past in order to lie Albanian citiznes when his current relations with the United States are at their worst. The United States have a detailed record of Sali Berisha as a politician, including his meetings with their officials in the past. Furthermore, it is precisely after such meetings that Berisha was described as a politician who does not fit the American standards, since he confronted with many US leaders regarding the political arrests of the opposition leader and several activists from the Greek minority.

All public information surrounding Berisha’s figure is well-known, while the non-public information most likely is even worse. However, even if there was some positive news regarding Berisha’s past relations with the US, the situation has now changed dramatically. The US has chosen to designate Sali Berisha and his family as non-grata permanently. This cannot be fixed through Washington lobbyists, trials in France or revolution in Albania. As the Deputy Assistant Secretary overseeing policy towards the Western Balkans Countries, Gabriel Escobar stated recently, the situation cannot be fixed even if Berisha achieves any kind of electoral success.

Therefore, Sali Berisha and his family will have to bear the US Sanctions permanently, until the end of their lives. Furthermore, his only excuse regarding his constant attacks against the US is that nothing worse can happen to him. He is already politically dead for the United States and hence there is nothing else that they can do against him.

Now Sali Berisha must make up his mind if he will continue his anti-American struggle, or if, defeated, he already regrets it and is seeking mercy. This is important only for his followers, in order to better understand if their leader is really as powerful and brave as he claims to be, or if he is the kind of man who attacks the US during the day, while secretly seeking its mercy. As for the United States, things are pretty clear: Sali Berisha, his wife, daughter and son are simply a bunch of thieves that should not be followed by anyone.