Ilir Meta
Albania’s prime minister has to lift his people out of the mire—and keep them out of regional violence
HE MIGHT have become a champion weight-lifter. Instead, Ilir Meta chose politics—in which, as prime minister of Albania, he needs much the same qualities: muscle, persistence and an ability to pick the right moment for an all-out effort. His job is to heave his hard-pressed country out of the clutches of traffickers in drugs, weapons and illegal migrants; and, now, to resist the extremists who are trying to create an ethnic-Albanian fief in neighbouring Macedonia.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Ilir Meta”
From the May 19th 2001 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Europe
Can the good ship Europe weather the Trumpnado?
Tossed by political storms, the continent must dodge a new threat
Spain’s proposed house tax on foreigners will not fix its shortage
Pedro Sánchez will need the opposition’s help to increase supply
A French-sponsored Ukrainian army brigade has been badly botched
The scandal reveals serious weaknesses in Ukraine’s military command
A TV dramatisation of Mussolini’s life inflames Italy
With Giorgia Meloni in power, the fascist past is more relevant than ever
France’s new prime minister is trying to court the left
François Bayrou gambles with Emmanuel Macron’s economic legacy
How the AfD got its swagger back
Germany’s hard-right party is gaining support even as it radicalises