With the prospect of a government change in the United Kingdom with general elections expected to be held in the second half of the year, there may be a chance of seeing an improvement in the relations with Albania, should the Labour Party come to power.
Denis MacShane, former British Minister of State for Europe who guested on “Inside Albania” podcast hosted by Alice Taylor this Saturday, expressed hope, although he had an advice to the Albanian politicians.
“I hope so. Tony Blair, Alastair Campbell, whom Prime Minister Edi Rama is friends with, like me, they are people of the past. Albanians need to talk to the new generation of politicians in Britain and the Labour Party because they will probably form the new government. Governments have changed democratically in Britain. Find some Conservatives and make them friends with Albania and Kosovo, North Macedonia as well”.
The anti-Albanian rhetoric in the British media, according to MacShane, is similar to a smear campaign of a few years ago against the Polish immigrants to the UK. He argues that such rhetoric is mainly driven by the Daily Mail newspaper.
Meanwhile, commenting on the latest political developments in Albania, with former prime minister Sali Berisha being placed under house arrest and the opposition obstructing parliamentary life, MacShane stated that Berisha is damaging the image of Albania.
“I met Sali Berisha 20 odd years ago, and even then, he was a legend for the time. Like [Albanian Prime Minister Edi] Rama, he is a-larger-than-life character. He is of the same age as Donald Trump, has the same megalomaniacal ambitions, accusations of corruption as well. I see Berisha as a Donald Trump of the Balkans. He just keeps on going, as a moderate European, a leader of the right-center politics in Albania. I saw smoke bombs exploding inside the Parliament. It was one of the images that went viral on social media and television here. I thought about the great damage it’s causing to the image of Albania, proving every anti-Albanian in Britain right,” MacShane concluded.
