"Vucic and I discuss things even when we disagree"

"Vucic and I discuss things even when we disagree"

Biography of Prime Minister Edi Rama is a an odd fusion of art, politics perceived as citizens' passion, huge popularity with young Albanians, etiquette of being a traitor, stolen elections...

Born on the 4th of July, 1964, in Tirana, which he transformed – during eleven years on its head – into a respectable capital, after, among other things, inviting all the recognized artists to paint faded and grey facades from the past. In 2004, he was acclaimed with International Major Award, as well as European Hero, that Magazine Time had awarded him with. Five years after the first election as Mayor of Tirana, Rama had become President of the Socialist Party of Albania in 2005, only to become its Prime Minister in 2013.

Above all, he dealt with drawing and painting, while he also had potential as a basketball player of Tirana's Dinamo, until art prevailed, and after finishing his studies, he had become Professor on the Academy of Fine Arts. Afterwards, while living in France, he will become a renowned artist, with several exhibitions.

"One day a phone rang, and Fatos Nano was on the line (the then Prime Minister), asking me whether I would like to become minister of culture. At that moment, I had discussed with my friends who could assume that role. And after accepting this offer, when I got back in the room, they had still discussed who could be offered this department", Rama told us on the book launch in the Belgrade Hotel Crowne Plaza.

That is how, all of a sudden, in 1998, just by one phone call, and one year after being badly beaten by, as he confesses, members of the then Albanian Secret Service SHIK, he returned to Albania and entered into politics. His first appointment lasted two years, while in 2000, he had begun his 11 years' reign in the capacity of Tirana's Mayor.

He presented a nuisance with his, for the old-style politicians, unusually free and open life style – a photo of his from the nude beach was also published, causing lots of comments pros and cons – so in 2003, he was charged with fraud, only to get rid of all charges two years later after a thorough investigation, while the citizens of Tirana had rewarded him with new term of office as its mayor.

Two years later, he had become Socialist leader. Others had accused him of dictator's political approach and in 2009, he had lost parliamentary elections with his movement Enough, but under suspicious circumstances and with only 10 votes less than a Conservative representative Sali Berisha.

Anti-government protests proceeded, 29 people got killed, but Rama's popularity had risen, and from being labeled as „pro-Greek Orthodox Christian“, although he was a declared atheist, a traitor, he eventually won the elections and assumed the role of Prime Minister in September 2013. He gave an interview for New Magazine, in an open, witty, and blunt way, after presenting his book to Belgrade audience.

What does Serbian edition of your book mean to you?

This is the fourth international edition of my book. It has been already published in Turkey and Romania, while Italian edition will be published in the spring. Belgrade promotion was my third experience with foreign language readers. And it was really pleasant, primarily thanks to Veran Matic. It was his idea to translate the book and to publish and promote it in Belgrade. And he did it in the best way possible. Great audience, great interaction, given that he was the moderator of the whole event.

It is a new bridge for me, a small one, in times in which we need more bridges. Big bridges! So that we could overcome very painful past that divides us, and jointly build a great future for our nations – the two biggest nations on the Balkans, as my friend Aleksandar Vucic used to say.

You told us that the book was not written as part of the history of Tirana during your term of office as its mayor, but for the sign to remain forever that will save some common sense at least. What you exactly mean with saying this?

No, I had written that by writing the book about 11 years as mayor, I hadn't aspired to write the history of Tirana for this time. The book was written in order to leave testimony of the exceptional times from my very personal perspective.

You were rather successful mayor of Tirana, but present position calls for bigger responsibility and hardwork for the state in general, and, surely, for the whole region. How do you plan to deal with this?

I don't think that it was easier to become Mayor of Tirana when no one knew what to do on that position, compared to becoming Prime Minister of Albania today. Of course, it is quite different, but not much harder. At least, not to me.

Your political career had commenced suddenly, and it has ups and downs, you had also survived election fraud and violence. How you look on that period now?

As a part of life that was not so bad so far, as in the end, there is no greater generosity that you can expect from life but to be given the opportunity to live while performing the job you really like.

Albania is, just like Serbia, on the road to European Union. What obstacles do you face with in the process?

The past with its way of life of the individuals and its interaction into society present the main obstacles in the modernization that the road to EU means.

The main problem of Serbia remains the relations with Kosovo and Belgrade and Pristina do not haste to speed up the process of normalization, and neither of them are ready, as it seems, to make a compromise. What would be your advice to all involved?

My advice would be that they get engaged and succeed in the reconciliation process. This is the hardest part of the politics that I can imagine. But I am also an optimist, although things could have been resolved quicker. In the end, only several years had gone by, not entire centuries, since the bloody war had divided people of those two current states. We should not forget this, but we should not also forget that people on both sides deserve better life, which is impossible to achieve without making this region a better place, making bigger market that will connect all of us.

You said that your relations with Prime Minister Vucic are far better now. How you reached this stadium of your relation?

We did it by deciding to give the dimension of openness to our relation, even if this can make the other one angry or upset. And it seems that it works, as there is nothing we cannot discuss openly, including the taboo topic of Kosovo, around which we divide deeply.

Based on your career and on what we might hear from you, you don't sound like other politicians we used to listen to in the region. What makes you special in that political arena?

Generally speaking, I feel somewhat specific as I am quite tall, which is unusual in the region, although we could make a basketball team composed of the leaders and beat any joint EU and Russian team! As for the rest, maybe my past combined with my ideas on politics as civic passion, not the professional cynicism, makes me a special guy on the position.

Your life coach, if I got it right, was your grandmother. She told you to be what you are, but never boring. Do you follow her advice?

She was not my life coach, those were my parents, while she was the source of my inspiration for adjusting to very strong standpoints of my coaches on what I should do, and what I shouldn't do! It is not exactly that I follow her advice, but I sometimes take care to be in line with it.