By Fitim Zekthi
What will kill the Albanian opposition is conspiracism—nothing else. It will not be killed by electoral defeats, nor by the lack of internal democracy. Even repeated losses, even the absence of internal democracy, are things a party can overcome and, after possible, long, and difficult reflection, can change and eventually win.
What never allows a party or an organization to reflect, to see itself, to change, is conspiracism: explaining the world and oneself, explaining one’s own condition and political developments, building a strategy of survival and victory through conspiracy.
Two days ago it was announced that Prime Minister Rama, Albania, has received an invitation from U.S. President Donald Trump to be a member of the Peace Board for Gaza. As is known, a short time ago, after difficult negotiations (and after three years of violence and genocide in Gaza), an agreement was reached between the U.S., Israel, Hamas, and the leaders of several countries—Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, etc.—for peace in several phases. After the completion of the first phase, now considered completed, which concerned the cessation of fighting and the resolution of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the second phase was to begin: the reconstruction of Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas, and so on. In this second phase, a Board would be established, to be led by President Trump. More or less this is what has happened, without entering into the great details of the peace plan and its functioning.
President Trump announced the Peace Board, which includes or will include around 100 countries, each with its representative. Within this giant political board, led by the U.S. and Trump, an executive board will be created to run the entire process on the ground. This executive board includes several well-known names from politics, economics, and diplomacy, starting with U.S. Secretary Rubio.
After the news came out that Prime Minister Rama has received an invitation to be a member of the Peace Board, there was a major convulsion within the ranks of the opposition, who could not accept this because of the conspiratorial narrative built so far. The invitation for Rama and Albania is a very good thing and, God willing, it will be used for good. It shows that our country is (as is well known) an ally of the U.S., and our government likewise a partner of the American government.
Until now the opposition has said and continues to say (and will surely continue for an indefinite time) that the Democratic administration of President Biden, and that of President Obama as well (but especially Biden’s), was under the control of George Soros. Prime Minister Rama was and is, says the opposition, a tool of George Soros. George Soros, in order to clear Rama’s path, lobbied through his means and people with Secretary Blinken and the entire Biden administration (which he controls) to declare Sali Berisha non grata, who was the only obstacle in Albania to the plans of Soros and his tool Rama, since Lulzim Basha had fallen under their control and had sold out the opposition. To open the way for Rama and to destroy the PD and the opposition (Berisha), SPAK was created, led by Rama and the Soros clan, and everything else was done.
The opposition has said and says that this plot will be destroyed by Trump as soon as he comes to power. The opposition has said that Trump and his administration, Vice President J. D. Vance, Secretary Rubio, Attorney General Bondi, Deputy Secretary Landau, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Deputy Chief Stephen Miller, etc., will destroy everywhere the Sorosist regimes and, above all, Rama. For this they have blocked him, isolated him, and he will have the fate of Maduro. Maybe they won’t take him by helicopter, but they will destroy him through SPAK, which is no longer controlled by Soros but by the Trump administration.
With this conspiratorial explanation the opposition has continued since 2021. With conspiratorial explanations it has continued for decades, explanations that it has deepened more and more, entering itself into an ever deeper crisis.
Of course in politics, even in American politics, there is lobbying, there are factors that influence, there are actors who play a role, but never do these go beyond lawful regularities, never does conspiracism exceed the logic of things and the principles of their functioning.
After the news came out, therefore, the opposition—shaken that Rama was receiving an invitation from the U.S.—began to say that it is a meaningless invitation, that 100 others have received it, that it has no value, that it does not show that Rama has emerged from isolation and from the terrible fate of American punishment. Rama may indeed be on bad terms with the internationals, and he is, because he has destroyed governance and the rule of law in Albania; Rama may have a terrible political fate and he will certainly leave very badly as a man who failed savagely in governance and corruption, but these have nothing to do with conspiracism.
The opposition has chosen conspiracism as an instrument of power or political survival. Theoretically, this happens when political actors lose support, moral authority, and credibility. Then conspiracy serves as a defense mechanism. Instead of accepting failure, responsibility is shifted to “hidden forces,” “external actors,” “invisible networks.” This preserves the narrative that the loss is not real, but imposed, says Richard Hofstadter in his famous book The Paranoid Style in American Politics. Conspiracy also simplifies reality by making it one-dimensional.
Political processes are complex; many kinds of variables enter from political sociology, economics, institutions, justice, and the sincerity of leaders, multiple interests. Conspiracy theories reduce this complexity to a single cause, usually an identifiable enemy. This makes political reality emotionally more manageable for the militant base. Conspiracy, on the other hand, creates fear, anger, and a sense of siege. These emotions are far more mobilizing than rational arguments. Conspiratorial politics produces a sharp division of “us versus them,” strengthening group identity and loyalty to the leader. These things massacre an organization, a party, or even a government. They may help small, specific people for small purposes, but not the organization or the movement. Today the opposition needs to be a popular movement to overthrow one of the most corrupt governments in the 35-year history, and not to hope that the U.S. (that is, conspiracism) will erase Rama from power.