Prime Minister Edi Rama has chosen a new format for public communication, announcing the launch of the podcast “Flasim,” this time with himself in the role of interviewee. In the published excerpts, the head of government moves from defending himself in the debate over Sazan to attacking SPAK, while also touching on the vacuum at the Tirana Municipality and his refusal to designate a political successor.
A new podcast with heavily political messages
The teaser video for “Flasim” does not come simply as the presentation of a media format, but as a package of carefully selected political messages. Rama appears answering questions on some of the most debated topics: Sazan Island, SPAK, and his political journey.
In one of the published segments, he also makes a direct comment about the capital, saying that the Tirana Municipality “has no head” in leadership. The statement comes at a time when the governance of local institutions and political responsibility remain at the center of public debate.
Sazan and the response to accusations of “selling Albania”
In the introductory video, Rama tries to rebut accusations related to Sazan Island. According to his version, “they are not buying the island, nor are they taking ownership of the island,” and the island “will remain the property of Albania.”
He then adds: “I am not the seller of Albania.” The statement appears to be a political response to the criticism that has accompanied this issue, but at this stage it offers no new elements beyond the public defense made by the prime minister himself.
Clash with SPAK and accusations over its methods
Another strong axis of the message is the attack on the Special Prosecution Office. Rama says that one of the worst things SPAK has done is use the media to smear people who would later be charged.
Along the same line, he goes further when he claims that “the prosecutor together with a judge joined in a room and decided that they would make the prime minister, the parliament and the president.” These are serious political accusations about the way justice institutions function, delivered in a communication product curated by the prime minister’s own office.
Tirana Municipality and the message on a successor
In another excerpt, Rama describes the situation at the Tirana Municipality with the wording that “the municipality has no head,” calling it “a social, political and economic experiment for a capital city to be governed without a head.” The statement once again opens discussion about the leadership crisis and the institutional cost produced by the vacuum in the administration of the capital.
As for his political legacy, Rama says he has no intention of choosing a successor. According to him, “the one who challenges you and becomes the successor, he must kill you,” while adding that when he leaves, “you will be rid of me.” In the same account, he also mentions a figure he describes as “a great political talent,” but who “could not carry the weight,” adding that “power is a monstrous beast.”
The announcement of “Flasim” shows that the new podcast is not being presented simply as a conversation format, but as another direct political channel for the prime minister to control the pace of public debate and set the topics himself.
Beyond the media packaging, the questions left unresolved by the statements made in the teaser remain essential: what is really behind the debate over Sazan, how well-founded are the accusations against SPAK, and what does the leadership crisis at the Tirana Municipality reveal about how power is exercised.