Against the establishment, not against the USA!

2026-06-25 17:08:00, Opinione Ardi Stefa

The July 4th protest, declared "nationwide," if not properly organized, risks giving exactly the message it should not give: "Not that of Albanian revolt against the corrupt establishment, but that of a rage that is too easily confused with anti-Americanism."

And this would be a political, moral and strategic own goal.
And perhaps the abandonment of the protest and its causes by moderate and sensible citizens. Perhaps even its final extinction.

Because July 4th is the Independence Day of the United States of America, a country that for Albanians has not simply been an ally, but a historical guarantee in crucial moments.

To load that day with a protest that risks producing rhetoric against "Americans," "the embassy," "foreign interference," or the usual conspiratorial fantasies is to give the protest a flavor that does not serve Albania at all, but only its darkest corners.

Because there is a clear line that should not be crossed: Being against Rama and Berisha does not mean being against America. Just as being with Rama and Berisha does not mean being with America.
Being against corruption, state capture, clientelism, propaganda and the arrogance of power does not make you anti-American. On the contrary: demanding the rule of law, fair elections, functioning institutions and accountability is closer to the Western spirit than all the megaphone patriotism of those who use the flag to hide their anger at the West.

So be careful!
Beware of neo-Marxists and anti-Americans camouflaged as "system radicals."

These people don't want to clean up the protest; they want to use it. They don't want Albania closer to the West; they want Albania angrier with it. They don't want justice; they want chaos. They don't want a cause; they want the hijacking of the cause.

These types are easy to recognize. As soon as the protest derails from concrete demands and devolves into abstract hatred towards the US, NATO, the West or "allies", it is no longer citizenship that is speaking, but ideological poison.

Therefore, the July 4 protest, if it is to be truly nationwide, must send a clear and opposite message:
Albanians are against a government that has consumed public trust and a neutered opposition, not against America. Against the 35-year-old establishment that has kept us in this protracted transition. Against corruption, not against the West. Not against the alliance that has kept Albanians on the right side of history.

If this distinction is lost, the protest does not win Albania. It simply gives the microphone and the platform to those who have always wanted to push Albania away from the West and real change.