Albania is a mess
Chaos on the streets and in parliament is blocking access to the European Union
CHINESE LANTERNS painted with the word “Ik” drift across the evening sky. Waving red Albanian flags emblazoned with its double-headed black eagle, as well as European Union and American ones, the crowd chants “Rama Ik! Rama Ik! Rama Ik!” Since February, in a series of mass protests, the opposition has been demanding that Edi Rama, the prime minister, must—in one word—go. During such raucous demonstrations, firecrackers and paint bombs are regularly hurled at his office. Lulzim Basha, leader of the opposition Democratic Party, which has led the protests, tells his supporters: “I won’t let this country slip into eastern despotic ways!” But as chaos in parliament and on the streets persists, Albania’s chances of being embraced by the EU are dwindling.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “All blocked”
Europe June 29th 2019
From the June 29th 2019 edition
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