"Trump, an opportunity to reawaken Europe" - Prime Minister Edi Rama, interview for "Bloomberg"
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama hailed Donald Trump as "good for everyone," portraying the president's harsh treatment of US allies as an opportunity for the European Union to rediscover its strength.
Rama’s comments, made in an interview with Bloomberg in Tirana, are striking not only because he is a socialist who has invested in Albania’s journey towards the EU by 2030 if he wins the upcoming parliamentary elections. They also reflect a campaign in which Trump and his world are playing a surprisingly outsized role.
"When Trump says that God saved him to make America great again, he only tells half the story. The other half is that He saved Trump also to wake up Europe, which must take action," the prime minister said.
According to Bloomberg, while there are no reliable public polls ahead of the May 11 vote, Albania is just one of several Balkan countries in which the Trump administration and associates have an interest.
In Albania, Rama is facing a challenge from the center-right Democratic Party led by Sali Berisha. One line of attack on Rama comes over his ties to Alexander Soros, the son of the billionaire investor, whom the prime minister considers a friend.
The prime minister has made his contacts with Trump's inner circle. Earlier this year, Jared Kushner, the US president's son-in-law and senior adviser, won preliminary approval from the Albanian government for a $1.4 billion luxury resort on a former military base.
The green light for the Sazan Island project on the southern coast of Albania, near where the Adriatic and Ionian seas meet, came days before Trump's inauguration in January. It is one of Kushner's major projects in the Balkans, which include a Trump hotel in the Serbian capital of Belgrade.
Rama, an artist and former basketball player, denied that his government's approval of the project was an attempt to curry favor with the US president. Kushner first visited the island in 2021 along with his wife, Ivanka Trump, and Grenell, he said.
"At the time, it wasn't something that would give us political points in Washington," Rama said. "There were others in power and it wasn't at all clear that Trump could win."
Albanian authorities are in the "discussion process" with Kushner's team and the deal has not been finalized. "We didn't give them the island, it's a partnership," Rama said. "It could be faster, it could be slower, but it's about both sides agreeing. They have our full support, but we have to agree."
Rama referred to his relationship with Kushner as personal. "I'm privileged to speak with him and I would be very happy to call him a friend," he said. "I don't know if he calls me a friend, but I call him a friend."
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