Protest as the new source of political legitimacy
Nga Red Varaku
Lajme flash
Three questions about Albania (...actually, just one)
2026-08-02 10:48:03 / POLITIKË
By Ardi Stefa
"Should we love Albania in a primitive way? Should we sell it in a modern way? Or should we love it in a modern way?"
Actually, these are not three questions. There is only one, which essentially seeks to define what kind of relationship we have with our country.
To love Albania in a primitive way is easy. It is enough to wave the flag, sing the anthem in the stadium, sing with passion: “Oh how good it would be to be Albanian, oh hey, oh hey”, to turn patriotism into a business, to use the word “homeland” as much as possible, but to respect it less and less; to curse foreigners and call anyone who does not share the same opinion with you a traitor. Unfortunately, this patriotism is the patriotism of noise and not of responsibility. It is the patriotism that feeds on emotions and dies as soon as it collides with personal interest.
This patriotism confuses patriotism with shouting, the flag with argument and calm, folklore with history; it puts the homeland under the party. It is the patriotism that is measured by big words, but not at all by deeds and real contribution. It is the patriotism of those who shout "I love Albania!", buy and sell votes, break the law and hate anyone who thinks differently.
It is even easier to sell Albania in a modern way.
A few ministers, a few deputies, a few mayors, a few oligarchs and a few businessmen pampered by the government are enough. Albania is no longer sold with treaties. It is sold with PPP, with predetermined tenders, with dubious concessions, with building permits, with a concreted coast, with donated public assets that pass into a few hands, with captured institutions and with a justice system that often moves slower than corruption.
Those who sell Albania the most, talk more than anyone else about their love for it and the responsibility they take. They take photos in front of the flag, while behind their backs they sign contracts that impoverish citizens and enrich their clients. Patriotism has become a bargain, and the bargain is politics.
Loving Albania in a modern way requires much more courage.
It means not to blindly worship it, but to tirelessly improve it. Not to protect power, but the state. Not to seek privileges, but rules that apply to everyone. To pay taxes, respect the law, protect the environment, hold the government accountable, and not sell your vote. Not to accept the cult of the leader. Not to blindly applaud your party. Not to remain silent when public property is stolen. To protect institutions more than politicians, the law more than interest, and the future more than propaganda.
Modern patriotism is not measured by the number of flags on the balcony for celebrations, but by the quality of the institutions we build and the responsibility we take as citizens. Not by building facades, but when the government fears the law more than the citizen fears the government.
Albania does not need either screaming patriots or merchants who sell it in suits and ties. It needs citizens who love it enough to refuse to humiliate it, rob it, or use it as personal property. This is modern love. The love that sees Albania as a homeland for which we are responsible and rejects all those who swear they love it, while living by selling it, piece by piece and day after day.
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