Sali Berisha appeared before reporters in Tirana immediately after returning from the United States, where he presented the visit as a moment of particular political and personal significance. In his statement, he called it the “most renewing journey” of his life, while placing his meetings with the Albanian diaspora at the center.
Statement after returning to Tirana
In his remarks to the media, Berisha offered a strong personal assessment of the visit to the US, describing it as the most renewing experience of his life.
He chose to describe the return not simply as the end of a political trip, but as a moment of recharging, in a statement that also appeared intended as a message to his supporters.
Diaspora at the center of the message
The main part of Berisha’s statement was linked to the meetings that, according to him, he held with the Albanian diaspora in the US. He described them as inspiring and extraordinary.
According to his version, the diaspora has had and continues to have an important political role, while he claimed he found it far stronger than before.
Comparison with 35 years ago
In his statement, Berisha made a direct comparison with the early years of pluralism, saying he had gone back 35 years, when the help of the diaspora and of the US was being sought for the overthrow of communism.
This time, he linked his message to the battle against what he described as a regime that, according to him, is sustained by drugs and by the dogma of communism. This remains a political position articulated by him, in line with the rhetoric he has long used against the government.
The statement after his return from the US showed that Berisha is trying to use contact with the diaspora as a point of strength in his political narrative.
Beyond the enthusiastic tone he used, the real weight of this mobilization remains to be seen on Albania’s political terrain.