FLASH
Shkruar nga Skënder Minxhozi
Lacivita is today one of those image experts who represent the most cynical model of modern lobbying: as long as the payment continues to be made, the client has the right to dream.
He definitely wanted something "American" at this moment of elections. Like when he founded Foltoren and promised a return to God and Family. Fixed like Donald Trump. Berisha today definitely wants a proof, a proof that he is within the confines of official Washington. Even more precisely, that he has been able to penetrate the White House. In this case, he needs something from the most powerful house in the world, a human presence, a phone call, a photo or even a doorknob, a chair or a cigarette ashtray from the Oval Office. Whatever it is, just come from there. And he found Chris Lacivita. With payment of course, but also with many dreams and illusions attached.
Sali Berisha wants to build on his American theorem of not doing anything after November 5 and use it on May 11. He needed some evidence, a signal, some sign in the air that would convince Albanians that on election day they could calmly vote for a man who had removed the persona non grata stamp.
Lacivita is today one of those image experts who represent the most cynical model of modern lobbying: as long as the payment continues to be made, the client has the right to dream. Even the most forbidden dreams, such as winning an electoral race that even your closest friends consider lost.
With the money he pockets, Lacivita can secure a photo somewhere, a private meeting, or a vague statement from Washington. And that is enough to sell in Albania as a return of American support, as a clean sweep of Doctor Berisha's biography. This is not diplomacy. It is a farce, and even a very expensive one.
But Lacivita alone can only help Berisha in the May 11 elections, but not in cleaning up the stain that Secretary Blinken once put on him. Something even bigger is needed, with more zeros behind it so that along with the elections the stain can be removed. And here appeared the company "Continental Strategy" of the daughter of Trump's chief of staff, also close and known to Lacivita. A group of powerful officials and in front of them a problematic client from a distant country, who, along with a list of third world countries, is ready to pay millions just to become a little friend with Donald Trump's new America. A full 250 thousand dollars a month, while pensioners and the unemployed sit and count the zeros.
The history of the Albanian opposition's multi-million contracts with Washington lobbyists and intermediaries has already convinced Berisha's inner circle that his political rehabilitation is complete. Today, there are DP officials who come out and swear on screen that the non grata no longer exists, that it has been removed. This is a great exercise in group suggestion, a collective hypnosis session. The conviction with which they express this certainty, that Blinken's letter has already been torn up, makes you think badly about the mental health of these people who seem not only within the role, but also outside logic.
The thing is, after you've spent millions and said the nice words, you're faced with the cynical reality of the ballot boxes. Do Albanians who are getting ready to vote believe that Berisha is already the favorite knight of the new Trump administration? Will they manage to suggest to voters the foreign names that Berisha has been listing for weeks in the campaign? Will they be even slightly affected by the fact that "we paid Donald Trump's people"? Or will they simply shake their heads and continue with their own, voting for what they intended to vote for?!
This dilemma puts at risk not only the many millions of dollars thrown left and right. It endangers the entire theorem of rehabilitation and return to the scene of the opposition and its leader. In a desperate attempt to survive politically, the former prime minister of Albania is trying to create at all costs and in any way the illusion of American support through connections with right-wing figures in the US.
And if this card, the only one he has at his disposal in front of the voters, burns in his hands, then the whole building collapses with the owner inside. Rama can get a fourth mandate, the non grata status can remain or be removed after May 11th and thus not only the money goes to waste, but also the opposition along with it. Therefore, the effect of millions must be demonstrated in the week we are entering. Later it is like dressing in a tuxedo and bow tie after the ball is over and the guests start to empty the hall. Although if you think about it carefully, the elections do not really matter to Berisha. It is enough for him to remove the stain of non grata because he is clear about who will win the elections. He only wants the opposition hut, not the palace of power.
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