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How Rama's exhibition opened in Hong Kong in 2015. The role of the Chinese company CECF China Energy, about which the convicted former FBI official provided information...
Edi Rama often uses an expression: "I am the best painter among prime ministers in the whole world. And I am the best prime minister among painters in the whole world. No one can take that away from me. This is for Guinness."
But in fact, this mixture of types between politician and artist is not as innocent as the jokes that the head of government makes in meetings with the people. The truth is that Edi Rama tries to sell himself in the eyes of the public as an eccentric painter, instead of being perceived as a corrupt autocrat. On the other hand, he camouflages his lack of talent as an artist by opening exhibitions and selling paintings thanks to the use of his position as a politician.
The latter is also confirmed by the recently made public document, drafted by the Inspector General of the United States Department of Justice, who has submitted his report on the McGonigal case.
Quite coincidentally, in this file, where one of the clues is the relationship of the former senior FBI official with Prime Minister Rama's advisor, Dorian Duçka, new facts also emerge about the painter politician. Thus, Duçka has been investigated as a man to whom McGonigal has illegally "sold" information about a Chinese company CECF China Energy. Duçka also worked for this company, which paid him 50 thousand USD per month. Knowing this fact, McGonigal informed him that the leaders of CEFC Ye Jianming and Patrick Ho could be arrested by the FBI, as they were accused of having practiced corruption and paid bribes in several African countries.
So far, the case is simply an American story in which only one Albanian name appears, Dorian Duçka (or witness B, as described in the file).
But the bad news is that its roots go deeper. After all, the same company, the energy conglomerate CEFC, headquartered in Shanghai, in addition to Africa, also had interests in Albania in the fields of oil, gas, hydroelectric power plants and energy infrastructure. And the best thing it could do, through its advisor Duçka, was to seduce the Albanian prime minister.
In fact, this is what happened about ten years ago. From October 26 to November 6, 2015, the Chinese company organized and financed a painting exhibition by Rama titled "Calendar Blossom" at the Yao Tsung Academy.
This exhibition, organized by the firm that employed Dorian Duçka and which was the third in a row after those that opened in Berlin and Munich, is clear proof of how the political painter benefits by being at the same time a prime minister who has the power to do favors and exert influence. So they did not invite an artist to China or anywhere else, but the company that had interests in Albania promoted one who, without power, would probably not have had the opportunity to exhibit even within his own country. Therefore, Rama's statement that he is the best prime minister among his peers has a dose of truth. He surpasses other painters by using tools that they do not have at their disposal.
But if the fable about how the executive branch helps promote an artist, raises a purely moral and aesthetic debate, this fact has been seized upon by the country's opposition to also emphasize a legal problem. Through Gazmend Bardhi, the DP has asked SPAK to investigate Edi Rama for concealing a conflict of interest and failing to declare private interests. According to Bardhi, the fact that the exhibition in Hong Kong was financed by a company that had interests in the Albanian market constitutes a problem. Therefore, he wrote to SPAK: "Considering the above, in support of articles 75/a, 280 and 281 of the Criminal Procedure Code, we request from the Special Prosecution Office against Corruption and Organized Crime that this additional information, together with the relevant documentation, be made part of the investigative file."
So, the occasional browsing of the McGonigal file, where Rama turned out to be the man who supplied the FBI official with documents against the domestic opposition through Dorian Duçka, produces some new news every time it is opened. But this time, in addition to the story of a prime minister acting in a conflict of interest, which is not a new thing, it has also violated Edi Rama in his artistic vanity. It has exposed him in the light of an artist who pumps up fame thanks to the power of being prime minister. / Lapsi
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