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The Economist analyzes the protest in Albania: Why everyone is calling for the arrest of Rama and Berisha
2026-06-17 10:45:17 / POLITIKË
Just last year, Edi Rama was easily re-elected for a fourth term as Albania's prime minister. However, in recent days, the usually sunny former basketball player has seemed increasingly nervous.
Every day since May 31, thousands of protesters have taken to the streets to oppose plans for luxury beachside developments involving Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law.
Since the projects threaten to damage a delicate lagoon, the demonstrations have been dubbed the “flamingo revolution.” Protesters say the threats to the environment and the risk of corruption are so serious that Mr. Rama should resign.
The Albanian press began reporting in 2024 on plans by Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, his wife, to develop two luxury resorts on Albania’s southern coast. One is in the Narta Lagoon, a protected area located where the Vjosa River flows into the Adriatic. The other is on Sazan, a nearby island and former military base. The lagoon is home to flamingos, pelicans and mosquitoes. Sazan has no fresh water and is littered with unexploded ordnance, as is the sea around it.
In late May, workers began to surround a beach on the lagoon, and on May 30, a group of protesters and security guards clashed at the scene. This sparked larger protests in Tirana, the capital. Albanian media have investigated who owns the land under development at Narta and how they acquired it. In addition to Kushner, two Syrian brothers living in Qatar have been linked to the project. Albanian investors include a powerful oligarch. On June 12, Albania’s independent anti-corruption agency issued an arrest warrant for an Albanian living in Miami, which included charges of fraud related to property deeds in the lagoon area.
Olsi Nika, head of EcoAlbania, an environmental organization, says the violence at the lagoon was the spark that set off an explosion of accumulated grievances. He notes a general lack of “transparency and accountability in government”: in 2024, the law on protected areas was quietly changed to allow the construction of luxury resorts within them. Protests are widespread, says Diell Grazhdani, a marketing executive:
“ People are talking about everything from LGBT rights to pelican rights. ” But everyone is calling for the arrest of Mr. Rama — and Sali Berisha, the main opposition leader.
Some call the protests a Generation Z revolt.
Berisha first became president of Albania in 1992. He and Rama have dominated politics for so long that no one under 40 can remember a time without them. “ They see us all as old-fashioned and an establishment that needs to go ,” says a friend of Rama’s.
Rama faces no serious challenge from within his Socialist Party. “ He only has servants, not collaborators ,” says Gjergj Erebara, a journalist. As for Berisha, the country’s anti-corruption agency is trying him on corruption charges. (In 2021, America imposed sanctions on Berisha, but on June 11 the State Department lifted them, citing “compelling national interest.”) Other politicians accused of corruption include the mayor of Tirana and Mr. Rama’s former deputy prime minister. All deny the charges.
The protesters range from liberal anti-corruption activists and environmentalists to nationalists calling for a Greater Albania including Kosovo. They have united against their country’s political elite. What they will achieve is less clear. Some see similarities to the protests that have rocked Serbia in recent years. They were sparked by concerns about environmental damage from a proposed lithium mine, and later turned against another Kushner-linked plan (which has since been abandoned) to transform a historic landmark in Belgrade into a luxury hotel.
As in Serbia, the new protest movement in Albania is dominated by young people. They are venting their anger against an elite that flaunts its wealth. The flamingos of Narta Lagoon have given them a bright pink symbol of discontent. But demonstrations without strong leaders and concrete plans may end up achieving little. / Translated by Alfapress.al From The Economist
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