It’s Time Washington Made Albania Take Corruption Warnings Seriously

Few people in the US or abroad took notice of President Joe Biden's memorandum to combat corruption globally -until the Administration began to declare former world leaders personae non grata.

In Albania, the US had repeatedly criticized Prime Minister Edi Rama's Socialist government of corruption, calling it "pervasive in all branches of government," especially in the judiciary.

It says Rama has furthermore tried to "exert direct and indirect political and economic pressure on the media, including by threats and violence against journalists who tried to investigate crime and corruption".

The strong words have had little effect; Albania's leaders have learned to ride the turbulent whitewater, finding solace in the calm pools of state visits and diplomatic assurances in Europe and the United States.

After all, at the request of Washington, Albania hosted released Guantánamo prisoners and, in 2018, offered itself as a safe haven for the Iranian opposition People's Mujahedin of Iran MEK, a cult-like group that the West once deemed a terrorist organisation. Most recently, Albania was one of the few countries to accept Afghans fleeing the Taliban takeover.

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in charge of the Western Balkans Gabriel Escobar attends the joint press conference in Skopje. Photo:L EPA-EFE/GEORGI LICOVSKI

During Albania's recent parliamentary elections in April, US Ambassador Yuri Kim surprised everyone when she openly accused Tom Doshi, an ally of Rama's and leader of the Social Democratic Party, of "significant corruption," and asked Albanians not to vote for him.

In the past, such a statement would have ended an Albanian's political career. Instead Doshi's party won three seats, making it the...