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Shkruar nga Sam Bright
The country has a history of political corruption and elections could prove unstable...
The Heritage Foundation, the American group that produced a key plan for Donald Trump's second term, is trying to shape the upcoming Albanian elections.
Opposition candidate Sali Berisha, leader of the Democratic Party, has openly boasted about the group's involvement in his campaign, posting photos online of his meetings with leaders of the Heritage Foundation and claiming that it helped "design" his policy platform.
Berisha, who previously served as the country's president from 1992 to 1997 and its prime minister from 2005 to 2013, hopes to return to power after the May 11 vote.
The Democratic Party chairman, who spent most of 2023 under house arrest on corruption charges, is running on a conservative, anti-tax platform that echoes some of Trump’s key points — including a promise to “make Albania great again.” The Democratic Party is a right-wing party with no ties to the American party of the same name.
The Heritage Foundation has expanded its European footprint since Trump's victory in November. On March 11, the American think tank convened hard-line conservative groups to hear how the current structures of the EU could be dismantled.
“With Trump, the Heritage Foundation has proven itself to be very capable of setting governments on the right track on immigration, the rule of law and social rights,” said Kenneth Haar, a researcher and activist at the Europe Observatory. He added that “seeing them play this role in Albania certainly opens a new chapter. Which European country will be next, one might ask?”
The Heritage Foundation led the way in creating Project 2025, a 922-page blueprint for radically downsizing the U.S. government. The plan called on Trump to “dismantle the administrative state,” change policies on climate action, reduce restrictions on fossil fuel extraction, eliminate government investment in renewable energy, and eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency.
Project 2025 also proposed restricting reproductive rights, including further restricting access to abortions, as well as access to contraceptives.
Also serving as a consultant on Berisha's campaign is the German think tank Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), which is funded by the German state and is affiliated with the country's center-right ruling party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
In February, Berisha unveiled his economic program with the “support” of KAS and, a month later, claimed in a speech that his platform “bears the seal of the Adenauer Stiftung.”
“It is a great thing to see the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung together with the Heritage Foundation,” Haar said, adding, “to see them side by side, playing a seemingly large role in determining the future of Albanian politics, is alarming. This coalition raises new questions for members of Trump’s European network.”
The Heritage Foundation and KAS are not the only foreign operatives connected to the campaign. Chris LaCivita, Trump's former campaign manager, is now orchestrating Berisha's operation.
"We are here today because we want to help elect a prime minister who is a true friend of the United States and who will work successfully with President Trump," LaCivita said at a press conference in February, as he was introduced by Berisha.
Since his re-election, Trump has repeatedly criticized the EU for its alleged opposition to U.S. trade interests. In March, he called the EU “one of the most hostile and abusive tax and tariff authorities in the world.” Albania is currently applying for EU membership.
Berisha has been promoting the role of the Heritage Foundation and ASK in his campaign for several months.
On February 16, Berisha’s Democratic Party presented its electoral program to a “panel of experts” by showing a video message from Thomas Kunze, the director of the KAS office in Albania. Kunze took the opportunity to reiterate “KAS’s continued support and assistance to the Democratic Party over the years.”
Steven Buçi from the Heritage Foundation also participated in this activity, who also appeared in the photographs published by Berisha on his Facebook page.
In the post, Berisha acknowledged the Heritage Foundation's role in shaping Trump's agenda and thanked the group for its help in "rebuilding the Albanian right."
"The American Heritage Foundation continues to provide its expertise with recommendations for the electoral program of the Democratic Party of Albania and is a worthy bridge for communication with the administration of President Donald Trump and the Congress of the United States of America," he added.
This bridge between Trump and Berisha is supported by LaCivita, the political strategist who helped run Trump's 2024 campaign.
During the campaign in Albania, LaCivita and Berisha have repeated some of the main complaints of Trump supporters.
"The current Prime Minister [Edi Rama] is nothing more than a puppet of George Soros," said LaCivita, when he was announced as Berisha's campaign advisor.
"You can't be a puppet of George Soros and a friend of the United States. It's simply not possible," he added.
Berisha pretendon se ai është shënjestruar nga një fushatë e udhëhequr nga ish-administrata e Joe Biden dhe financuesi Soros – një filantrop i shquar hungarezo-amerikan që ka mbështetur shumë nga kauzat liberale.
“Soros dhe marionetat e tij kanë bërë gjithçka për të shkatërruar opozitën konservatore të Shqipërisë,” ka pohuar Berisha – duke i bërë jehonë një teorie konspirative të spikatur rreth manipulimit të Sorosit me politikën globale.
Pavarësisht se mori mbështetjen e Fondacionit Heritage, KAS dhe LaCivita, sondazhet sugjerojnë se Berisha nuk ka gjasa të bëjë një rikthim tjetër politik, ndërsa vazhdon të ndjekë Partinë Socialiste të Ramës.
Megjithatë, vendi ka një histori korrupsioni politik dhe zgjedhjet mund të rezultojnë të paqëndrueshme.
Projekti Evropa
Fondacioni Heritage duket se e ka kthyer gjithnjë e më shumë vëmendjen e tij drejt Evropës pas fitores së Trump në nëntor.
Duke folur gjatë konferencës së Aleancës për Qytetarinë Përgjegjëse (ARC) në Londër më 17 shkurt, presidenti i grupit Kevin Roberts foli për fokusin e ri evropian – duke bërë thirrje për një bashkëpunim më të ngushtë midis politikanëve nacional-konservatorë në të gjithë botën perëndimore.
Roberts pohoi se Fondacioni Heritage do të mbështeste "miqtë nga Evropa" për të "rikthyer" institucionet e tyre, duke sugjeruar që organizatat mbikombëtare si BE, Kombet e Bashkuara dhe Organizata Botërore e Shëndetësisë "na grabitin sovranitetin tonë individual".
"Kjo ka të bëjë me rimarrjen e sovranitetit, rimarrjen e shpirtit, sovranitetit të secilit prej shteteve tona kombëtare", tha ai.
Një muaj pas konferencës së ARC-së, Fondacioni Heritage mbajti një samit në Uashington DC me grupet lobuese hungareze dhe polake MÇ dhe Ordo Iuris për të diskutuar se si të rishikojnë strukturat aktuale të BE-së.
Fondacioni Heritage ka mbajtur gjithashtu takime private me politikanë evropianë gjatë muajve të fundit, përfshirë ata të afërt me kryeministrin hungarez Viktor Orban, qeveria e të cilit financon MÇ.
Fondacioni Heritage “kërkon të drejtojë Amerikën drejt autokracisë nën sundimin e Trump”, tha më parë Martin Schirdeëan, një anëtar i Parlamentit Evropian (PE), bashkë-kryetar i grupit The Left.
"Që nga zgjedhja e tij, ne kemi parë se ata synojnë t'i ndjekin ato plane deri në fund. Ne tani e dimë se Fondacioni Heritage dhe aleatët e tyre në Evropë duan të përsërisin atë model këtu. Ne duhet të mbrojmë shërbimet, të drejtat dhe liritë tona nga këta oligarkë me çdo kusht", tha ai.
Lidhja e Fondacionit Heritage në Shqipëri me KAS është parë nga disa vëzhgues si shqetësuese dhe e papritur.
KAS është e lidhur me CDU, e cila do të formojë një qeveri në Gjermani nën udhëheqjen e Friedrich Merz pas zgjedhjeve federale të shkurtit.
Si CDU ashtu edhe KAS janë pro BE-së, ndërsa Merz ka pohuar se SHBA-ja “nuk është më Amerika që njihnim më parë” pas kthimit të Trump në Shtëpinë e Bardhë dhe miratimit të Projektit 2025.
Albania is currently in the process of joining the EU, and Berisha said in a speech on March 18th that he was "fully committed" to Albania's integration.
KAS said its work in Albania helps promote the country's EU accession, the "internal democracy" of the Democratic Party, and that its cooperation "does not involve any institutional funding."
In contrast, LaCivita called Europeans "stupid" on a Politico podcast in March.
“There is no cooperation between KAS and the Heritage Foundation in Albania,” KAS added. The Democratic Party “has had its own ties with the Heritage Foundation for some time. KAS was not involved in initiating these ties.”
However, like the Heritage Foundation, KAS is active abroad. It claims to have a presence in over 100 countries, collaborating with local partners.
The MÇ – which is largely funded by the Hungarian state oil company – is one of these partners, while the German think tank also gave around 250,000 euros to the political foundation of Orban's Fidesz party between 2004 and 2012.
KAS stated that its ties to the MC are part of its work “examining authoritarian regimes” and that “the MC has a particularly wide reach” among young people – a valuable “target group” for KAS.
Berisha's background
In his March 18 speech, Berisha also expressed “special gratitude” to “my friends from the CDU, the Adenauer Stiftung and the Heritage Foundation, who supported us in our most difficult days.”
These "difficult days" have included accusations of corruption against Berisha, as well as suspected links to organized crime. He denies all wrongdoing.
The Democratic Party's candidate for Prime Minister, who has been banned from traveling to the United Kingdom, is alleged to have passed a special law when he was in office from 2005 to 2013 that helped his son-in-law make millions from a construction development.
Berisha and his American allies claim that these accusations were cooked up by the Biden administration in collusion with Soros – suggesting that Berisha's opponents were funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which has recently been vilified by Trump's "government efficiency" chief, Elon Musk.
In March, Berisha said that Trump was one of the politicians who inspired him – in particular Trump's statement that "the most dangerous enemy is the enemy within."
Berisha’s election platform has mirrored Trump’s. He has proposed introducing a law that recognizes only two genders, mirroring the new US president’s decree. He has also campaigned for a “made in Albania” agricultural policy, echoing Trump’s concern about foreign imports.
Berisha is also said to be wearing a red "Make America Great Again" hat behind his desk. /Pamphlet adapted from Desmog.com/
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