In a region defined by volatility and historical rancor, Albania has proven to be one of America’s strongest allies.
From its early NATO support to unwavering alignment with Washington in the Balkans, Albania has consistently been on the side of the transatlantic community.
But loyalty alone does not ensure democracy. A decade of socialist rule has led to institutional decay, mass emigration, authoritarianism and rising public disillusionment.
The time has come for a conservative alternative, rooted in democratic change, strong and durable institutions, free markets, and family values.
The Democratic Party of Albania (DP), the traditional champion of anti-communist freedom and Euro-Atlantic integration, is preparing to come into power. Its platform, recently presented in Tirana, is a revolutionary vision: economic freedom via supply-side reforms, flat taxes, deregulation; pro-family policy to address the demographic crisis; investment in law and order, defense, energy independence, and curbing bureaucratic overreach.
It is an unapologetically conservative platform, a historic long-term alternative to make Albania a model of democracy and capitalism.
This vision is not driven by ideology, but by need. Albania is undergoing a national survival crisis. More than 1.1 million people have left the country since 2013. Birth rates have collapsed. Youth unemployment and corruption are endemic.
The judiciary, hijacked by the Soros network under the guise of ‘reform’, selectively silences the opposition while shielding government loyalists. Institutions once touted as anchors of democracy have been hollowed out, replaced by a façade of legalism.
The conservative opposition has endured throughout. Sali Berisha, a conservative statesman and former president and prime minister of Albania, who brought the country into NATO and abolished visa regimes with the EU, has endured political persecution of a kind not seen in a European democracy.
He returned to active politics to save his party and country, after more than eight years out of any official positions. In 2021, Berisha was barred from entering the U.S., a move now widely seen as politically motivated and lobbied by Soros and the prime minister and discredited by many American conservatives.
Once praised by the U.S. for anti-corruption efforts, Berisha now benefits from growing support among American and European conservatives who view the Biden-era sanctions process as abused and consider Berisha the statesman Albania needs to save it.
On May 8th, Axios White House Correspondent Marc Caputo published a State Department statement on Berisha’s sanctions, effectively rendering the non grata null and void:
“We routinely grant waivers to facilitate designated individuals’ travel to the U.S. consistent with international obligations and our national interests. As such, we won’t let our foreign policy interests or relationship with Albania be held hostage by politicized Biden-era decisions.”
Berisha has nonetheless demonstrated leadership of a reenergized conservative base. His movement has endured state repression, media censorship, and international disregard.
That persistence is not merely personal, it is an expression of a social force, a demand of the Albanian people for dignity, sovereignty, and restoration of democratic order. The conservative movement he leads has surpassed unthinkable obstacles and managed to unite the opposition and sensibilize the international community.
Now, they appear ready to lead Albania into what they call a golden age, strongly influenced by the Reagan and Trump revolutions. In fact, Mr. Berisha was the first and only opposition leader in Europe to endorse President Trump and has raised his voice against Trump’s political persecution, mirroring Berisha’s.
Washington has an interest in fostering this democratic upsurge. Albania is one of the last deeply pro-American strongholds in Southeastern Europe. Its regional influence, military bases, and ports are strategic assets at a time of growing Russian and Chinese influence in the Balkans.
Yet the United States has too often confused loyalty to individuals with loyalty to democratic principles. In Albania’s current situation and the geopolitical challenges, the region faces, an experienced pro-Western statesman is needed to ensure continued Euro-Atlantic integration.
Berisha, often accused of being too pro-American, is one of the few who bridges European center-right traditions with American conservative values.
A new Tirana conservative government would refocus the country on the values that originally attracted Albania to the Western fold: limited government, private property, intact families, and free markets — all aligned with the agenda of the new Trump administration, which would find in a Berisha government a trustworthy ally in the old Continent.
The DP platform suggests a drastic reduction of the tax code, easing small business burdens, enticing diaspora investment, and unleashing job creation while focusing on production, light industry, innovation and exports. The state would withdraw from sectors where it distorts competition and instead focus on infrastructure, production, energy, healthcare and education.
The family would be placed at the policy center: direct child financial support, housing incentives for young couples, protection of parents’ rights, and a culture of life. National security is central: cyber defense, border control, and full alignment with NATO and U.S. interests.
The Western Balkans remain a vulnerable region, and stability will not be secured by technocratic rhetoric and strongmen. In these trying times, as we reach a multipolar world order, Albania must have a robust, not managed, democracy.
Democracy demands more than elections, it needs competition, strong institutions, and public trust, none of which exist when opposition leaders are jailed, elections tainted by crime, and media freedom eroded.
America cannot ignore what is happening in Albania. As it supported the Eastern European democratic movements in the 1990s, it must now support the conservative realignment offering a viable alternative to stagnation and corruption.
An alliance of values, not of convenience, will better suit America’s regional interests than any tactical agreement with a pliant government.
Albanians are ready. The conservative agenda is ready. And the movement behind it, tempered in struggle and sacrifice, is ready to lead.
Nikola Kedhi, Chairman of the Board of the Albanian Policy Center. Read more of his reports — here.
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