“To Italian investors Albania is Italy of the glorious economic boom period”
This was the message that Italians working in Albania conveyed through “Agorà”, a TV program broadcasted by RAI 3. Guest of this program was the Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, who talked about yesterday’s Albania, today’s Albania and about its aspirations for the future.
Host of this political talk show, Serena Bortone, presented an overview of the political journey of the Albanian Prime Minister, highlighting the so-called “Revolution of Paintbrushes which dates back at the time Edi Rama was Mayor of Tirana. “You have been Prime Minister since 2013, and before you were Mayor of Tirana. Your political journey is similar to that of Matteo Renzi, a friend of yours. In addition, you both belong to the socialist party, which makes you very close to each other politically speaking. Let me say a few words about you. When you were Mayor of Tirana, you painted the grim buildings of the communist era and marked the so-called “Revolution of Paintbrushes”, is it correct? How important was, according to you, the good humor in order to overcome the crisis and that particularly sad moment for your country?
“Firstly – the Prime Minister said – it was about finding again the way of hope after so many years of despair and of so many disillusions.
When asked about the reason why Albania is so eager to be part of the European Union, at a time when other countries would rather be out of Europe, especially in the aftermath of the Greek crisis, the Prime Minister replied: “Apparently, there is an odd paradox that, while many countries want to be out of Europe – just think of Great Britain and other political forces of other countries – we in the Balkans and in Albania want to be part of it at any cost. This because we still believe in this big project and we think that it is true that Europe is going today through a particularly difficult moment, but this doesn’t mean that we should have less Europe and be out of Europe, because this would mean being out of history. On the contrary, it means a Union which is much more connected to the fates of people, a Union more political and less bureaucratic.”
The talking became increasingly interesting after the screening of a clip in which Italians working in Albania told about their experience. It was a picture of how Albania’s image has changed in just 25 years, and which Bortone defined a reversed situation, since it is not anymore Albanians going to Italy in search of a job, but it’s Italians coming to Albania in order to invest and work because here taxes are 15% and the manpower cost is very low. “Is the Albanian miracle an unfair competition face to us?”, Bortone asked jokingly the Prime Minister.
“Just look at these pictures to understand how time and history have changed unimaginably. It looks like it is a century ago, but these images are only of 25 years ago. Today the situation is very different from 25 years ago, when Albanians would come here because they were hungry. Today, there are approximately 40 thousand Albanians who pay taxes to the Italian Treasury, who start their business in Italy and are perfectly integrated. Not to mention the young students who, compared to students coming from other countries, have the best results. But there is also an inverse situation, since there are 20 thousand Italians living and working in Albania, and there are hundreds of incoming businesses. You would rather have me talk about internationalization than displacement. Anyhow, this happens because of the low cost of the manpower and the very low taxation.”
Talking about immigration, an increasingly concerning problem that Europe is facing today, the host asked for the Prime Minister’s opinion in approaching this problem. According to him, anyone trying to incite hatred and looking at the barricades as the only solution has a totally irrational approach.
“I strongly believe that if politicians hide behind people, people will never succeed, and we lose the sense of leadership and the sense of the future. We need to represent something that goes beyond people’s gut ache. If we represent people’s gut ache only to get votes, then we push the country over the edge. Of course, there is no room for everybody, but this is an issue far more complicated. All of us must keep in mind that immigration is not an issue to be dealt with by Italy alone or other countries standing in the front line face to this problem. It is an issue to be dealt with at European level, that’s why we need more Europe and not less Europe. If arguments like “Let’s be out of Europe, let’s be out of Euro” triumph eventually and we lock ourselves in our fortresses, this fortress will fall apart. There is no fortress that can face the despair coming from other worlds. We need to rebuild the European project. Problems are due to its incompleteness, and not to the project in itself. We need to have a European project that makes all of us stronger.”
In this regard, the Prime Minister supported the approach of the CDI President, Pier Ferdinando Casini who was attending the program on a live video feed. The Prime Minister noted that according to this approach immigration should be looked at as a phenomenon which is not merely local or regional, but which has global dimensions, and it doesn’t require walls but a vision and cooperation.
“I want to greet Pier Ferdinando, who is a good friend’s of Albania and a witness of all these years. Let me stress that what he said is sacrosanct. We need to look beyond the place we are, and look at the global picture of this desperate immigration. We need cooperation and not walls, for this would be a suicide for Italy. We also must understand that these people have nothing to lose, while Italy has everything to lose. Building a wall against another wall is not only a political suicide, but it can have very serious consequences for people. And the question is exactly what Pier Ferdinando said. It is normal that people in the neighborhood feel frustrated and frightened, but it is absolutely unfair and even immoral that people who make television and who can talk to people, become speakers of a gut ache which is not the alternative, it’s not a vision, it’s not a program, but it is just a reaction. Doing this kind of politics only to collect votes means stabbing this country at the point that is totally paralyzed in front of the major problems for which nobody has an exhaustive answer.”
In conclusion, after asked by the host what his next stop was, the Prime Minister replied: “I’m going back to Tirana, and I invite everybody to come there, because while here we talk things, in Albania we do things.”
