FLASH NEWS
America may withdraw from Europe, but not from SPAK
2025-12-11 12:45:58 / EDITORIAL
At first glance, it seems paradoxical: in the new National Security Strategy, the United States speaks of the need for Europe to carry more weight on its own, to reconsider the illusions of the era of unipolar order and to break free from dependence on Washington. At the same time, in Tirana, America seems more present than ever… not on the side of the government, but on the side of an institution: SPAK.
On the one hand, we have the discourse of Edi Rama, who a few months ago hinted that "the Americans have left", and the successive statements about his monopoly in support of SPAK, but also the harsh barrages against the institution when the latter approached the most powerful people close to him. On the other hand, we have the official messages from the State Department, the visits of high-ranking officials, the anniversary greetings and the open support for SPAK as a key instrument against corruption and organized crime, and finally the landing once again near the KLP on the day of the election of Duman's successor.
This is where SPAK comes in. For a part of the Albanian political class, SPAK was intended as a beautiful decoration to show to Brussels and Washington. But the last three years have shown that this institution, despite all the limitations and pressures, is doing what justice reform promised: it is bringing powerful people from all sides to the dock, it is resolutely fighting organized crime and, just as importantly, it is one of the strong points of our CV on the road to the EU.
This is precisely where America chooses not to retreat. It may have cut some assistance programs, it may no longer keep “under control” every political process. But it has not withdrawn an inch of support for the structures that crack down on high corruption and organized crime. Because corruption in a small NATO country is not just a moral disgrace; it is also a security risk for the US. For Albanian society, this is good and bad news at the same time. Good, because it shows that there is a direct line between the aspiration for a normal state and the strategic interest of a power like the US. Functional justice is not just a Western luxury; it is a condition for being a reliable partner. Bad, because it exposes the comfort of a part of the political elite that is accustomed to using “America” as a propaganda ornament, but not as a standard of accountability.
For Albanian politics, the message is brutal. With the change of administrations, misunderstandings here led to "clinking" of glasses, when they read in the new posture of the Trump administration a willingness to see more of themselves, with a return to political realism that, according to local readings, would translate into an autonomy to return to the old refrain "Thessaloniki and downhill...". But the champagne bottles were opened in vain, because the US can withdraw from the role of political tutor in Europe, but not from the fight against corruption and organized crime in Albania. Because it is not only our democracy that is at stake, it is also its security.
Of course, in a normal country, the marches of international representatives to the SPAK offices would seem abnormal. But we are not a normal country, because of the corruption that has stifled the development and democratic life of the country. We are not a normal country because the flirtation of politics with organized crime has alienated political representation and barbarized the public arena.
And this abnormal manifestation is a direct product of the abnormality of our politics, which in 35 years has asphyxiated justice as one of the pillars of the dialectic of powers, along with the legislative and executive. And this is the reason why today, in the eyes of Washington, the real partner in Tirana is not any transitional government, no leader who rises and falls from power. It is a new, fragile, attacked, but decisive institution: SPAK. If this institution falls, not only our hope for justice falls, but also the reason why the West should take us seriously.
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