Greek-Albanian relations, without blinders

Athens hosted an art exhibition a couple of months ago at its iconic Zappeion Hall venue where Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama was able to express his creative side. Late last year, Kyriakos Mitsotakis paid an official visit to Himare, becoming the first Greek prime minister to visit one of the main ethnic Greek towns in Albania in 30 years. Athens also used diplomatic channels to convey the message to Albania, and the Albanian contingent more generally, of its intention to help Tirana achieve its midterm goals, and particularly the West Balkan country's expressed desire to join the European Union.

The Albanian authorities' dictatorial decision to arrest the ethnic Greek mayoral candidate for Himare, Fredi Beleri, just two days before Sunday's local elections did Rama no favors, as the result of the vote has shown. The decision probably helped Beleri's Together We Win...