Written by Desada Metaj
If the news turns out to be true and Sali Berisha can travel to the United States again, then he has finally won the battle he has waged for five years against the decision of the US State Department.
It’s a personal victory. Perhaps even a political one for him and his supporters. But the problem is that the Albania of 2026 is no longer the Albania of 2021.
Because while Berisha fought to remove the American stamp, the country changed. The citizens changed. Public perception changed. And above all, a new political anger arose that has no more patience for either Rama or Berisha.
For years, Edi Rama’s favorite question was: “Can he cross the ocean?”
Today it seems that question has lost its relevance.
The real question is another: “Can he cross the Boulevard?”
Because if you look at the protests of the last few days, you don’t hear anyone calling for the return of Berisha. You don’t hear anyone celebrating the end of non-women. You don’t hear anyone calling for the rehabilitation of the old political class.
On the contrary.
In the square, you hear cries against the entire political system of the last thirty years. You hear “Rama go away”, but just as often you hear “Rama in prison, Berisha in prison”.
This is why even if Berisha can cross the American border tomorrow, it remains unclear whether he can cross the political border that is being erected every evening between the protesters and the old political class.
After all, American non grata was an administrative decision that could be changed with a signature.
Citizen non grata is much more difficult.
It cannot be removed by lobbying.
It doesn’t go away with a phone call.
It is not removed with a visa.
And it doesn’t even come off with a triumphant declaration.
Because unlike the State Department, citizens don’t publish press releases. They give their verdict in the square.
And so far, the verdict being heard on the Boulevard is that the problem is not just Edi Rama.
The problem is also the political system that brought Albania to this point.
A system where, for most protesters, both Rama and Berisha are part.
Therefore, if the American non grata has fallen, it remains to be seen whether what is taking shape every evening in the square has also fallen.
Because a politician can cross the US border.
But this does not mean that it passes the judgment of its own citizens.