FLASH
Shkruar nga Andi Bushati
Despite Farage's exaggerated accounts of Albanians in prison, all that remains in mind from this entire controversy is not the discrediting of the far-right leader's lie, but the association of the Albanian immigrant with the jailer...
In this hot period, where the heat wave kills a lot of news, Edi Rama has managed to grab the headlines of the local and British media, engaging in an identity-humorous controversy with the leader of "Reform UK". His retorts against Nigel Farage, who demands the emptying of his country's prisons of "Albanian criminals", whom he sees as a bad thing for Britain, should, in principle, be applauded.
Likewise, labels for the "windy country" that has a phobia of foreigners could hold true in this context.
But before we play the patriot of the facade, we should pause for a moment to consider the background to this controversy and the bet that the head of government made on the number of our compatriots who are in the cells of the island. Farage, referring to a reputable right-wing daily, "The Telegraph", claims that 1 in every 50 Albanians found in his country has ended up behind bars.
Rama, mocking her by publishing a photo of the two of them in AI-generated swimsuits, challenged her to invite her to vacation on our shores if this figure turned out to be true.
According to the Prime Minister, the number of our compatriots in Britain is three times higher, which is why there are less than 1/100 Albanians in prisons in England and Wales.
But, beyond the fact of who is right about the numbers and percentages, the question that arises is: does focusing attention on imprisoned Albanians interest the Albanian community there and our image in general?
Regardless of whether Farage has exaggerated his account and that of the head of government may be closer to the truth, all that remains in mind from this entire controversy is not the discrediting of the far-right leader's lie, but the association of the Albanian immigrant with the prison guard. By intervening in this debate, rather than playing patriot, a shield for the London boys, Rama gives wings to their stigmatization. This impression is made even stronger by the fact that he is a supporter of a theory that he often preaches, that slander, evil, darkness, require a lot of effort to be defeated by truth and light. This is precisely why he has chosen not to respond to most of the accusations against him in Albania. As a master of communication and techniques for manipulating opinion, he is aware that a negative image, even when defeated, still leaves a stain.
So, why did he get involved in this debate against his own stated principles, convinced that its prolongation and media coverage would not do any good to the Albanians of Britain?
The only logical answer to this is that by engaging in a clash with the xenophobic Nigel Farage, he was not concerned with the image of the immigrants there, nor with the role of Skanderbeg in protecting his compatriots. This controversy serves another purpose for Edi Rama. He will at all costs be the favorite of the European establishment, of the elites who want to preserve the status quo and who are still dominant in the West. Only through them can he ensure internal legitimacy and continue to turn a blind eye to the authoritarian regime he has established.
Of course, to guarantee the petting of this establishment, there is no better target than Nigel Farge. The former Brexit crusader, the man who for more than two decades made leaving the EU his cause, denouncing political elites and uncontrolled immigration, has been a thorn in the side of all those Edi Rama tries to seduce.
In this sense, what happened to the former Brexit inspirer recently is a deja-vue of what we saw with the slurs against Trump in the 2016 election campaign, when he was labeled a "disaster for the world" and a "shame on humanity."
Although even then, statements against the billionaire candidate were made ostensibly out of concern that his possible victory would ruin Albanians' relations with the US, everything was undertaken in the name of Soros, the Clintons, and the ruling elites in France or Germany.
Back then, Rama didn't believe that the MAGA leader would defeat Hillary Clinton, just as today he doesn't believe that the head of "Reform UK" has a chance of reaching 10 Downing Street.
But, when the first miracle happened, he left no stone unturned to recover from his previous blunder, going so far as to pardon Sazan. Now we must cross our fingers for Nigel Farage's bad luck, so as not to lose more pieces of Albania. Or so that there are no more prisons like Meloni's, which, for now, are said to never be given to the British. © Lapsi.al
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