Ivanka Trump was aboard a yacht when she saw the spot. “That’s how we found it,” she said. “We swam to the island; we went on a hike barefoot to the top and we were just captivated. And over the course of many years, we developed the opportunity to help realise its potential.”
What presented itself as an ideal investment opportunity to Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, has sparked mass protest and now threatens an entire government.
Since they fell in love with the area, Kushner’s Affinity group and a local firm, Sazan Real Estate Development, have formulated a plan to pump in $1.6 billion to build a luxury resort in Vjosa-Narta on Albania’s coast and is funding another at nearby Sazan Island.
The trouble is, what so entranced Ivanka and Jared is also home to protected sea turtle nesting sites, flamingos and seals. What began as a localised environmental protest has seen demonstrators take to the streets of Tirana, peacefully, brandishing inflated pink flamingos and placards proclaiming, “Flamingo Revolution”.
Prime Minister Edi Rama is unmoved, continuing to give the Kushners his full backing. Speaking as if straight from the Donald Trump phrase book, Rama said: “I'm telling you, it's going to be a beautiful project and we're going to do it and we're going to be proud to contribute to Europe.”
He met Jared and Ivanka a few years ago when they were on a cruise and moored off Albania. He thought they were “very nice, humble … humanly good people”.
Rama says the projects, once completed, will be worth $5 billion. He is confident they will attract foreign visitors, create jobs, generate revenue and, most importantly, mark a major step upwards in his attempt to lift his country economically, advancing its image on the international stage and helping gain admittance to the EU. He believes the Kushners, and by extension the Donald Trump imprimatur, will provide a significant boost.
Others see it differently. The spark was the erection in May of barbed wire fencing for work to begin on an access road and the start of ground preparation. The developers’ private security fought with environmental campaigners and the opposition spread.
Rama has backed down over the fencing, calling it a “disgraceful idea” and it has been removed. But he is refusing to go further and bar the development completely. “It's a big dream and big dreams have always faced controversy,” he told Reuters.
Rama is optimistic that the habitat worries will prove unfounded. “We are very proud of what we have done for the wildlife in Albania. The European Commission has no reason to doubt our firm will to protect whatever has to be protected when it comes to wildlife and nature.”
Rama, 61, is an ex-basketball player and artist, who has cultivated a modern relaxed style in contrast to the severe rulers of old, donning casual black suits and T-shirts, and surrounding himself with his paintings and art works in his offices, since coming to power in 2013. For him, the controversy carries added significance. At stake, is not just the future of the Kushner scheme but of his premiership.
The proposed resort has become aligned to concerns over Albania’s direction and possible loss of identity and culture. It’s about an Albania that until relatively recently was heavily tied to communism and the Soviet-dominated, eastern bloc, today embracing capitalism and becoming westernised. The accusation is, that in pursuit of that goal, the small, financially-strapped state is prepared to sell its soul, even threatening treasured, endangered species.
Rama is in a bind. Albania is crying out for change. Some 1.2 million of its citizens have migrated since the fall of communism, leaving a current population of around 2.4 million. The manufacturing base is struggling, Albanian agricultural production is suffering versus that of other countries, infrastructure is crumbling. In short, the economic lift-off expected from escaping the communist grip has not materialised, at least not to the extent that many had hoped.
Rama’s regime is popular; it’s won a record four elections straight. He’s promised to deliver EU membership within five years from the last ballot, which was in October 2024. That clock is ticking. In order to join, Albania must reform and strengthen. Crucial to that advancement is tourism, but progress is slow, which is what makes Kushner so attractive.
These demonstrations are markedly different to the violent flare ups against perceived corruption in past administrations. Those marching are good natured, handing out flowers and singing and dancing, and even picking up the litter afterwards.
What is particularly galling for Rama is that they are largely young – the very people who so crave admission to the EU. They see it, though, as owning their country and defining its future; Albania ruling itself on Albanian terms. One of their slogans is ‘Albania is not for sale’.
The presence of the Trump name cuts both ways. While it’s appealing to Rama as a symbol of success and as a magnet to draw other investors, it’s also received global media coverage and a focus far beyond that of a typical, localised environmental campaign.
Rama is stuck. He wants Ivanka and Jared, desires their money and the Trump brand; but they come at a price.
He is also aware that if he backs down, Albania may also incur the wrath of Kushner’s father-in-law, because with the Trumps, family business and diplomacy are never far away.
Not so long ago, it would have been unthinkable for a US president to ever support and promote an Albanian leader. Likewise, the notion of the president’s daughter and son-in-law putting any cash, let alone such a substantial amount, into the country would be inconceivable.
In some ways it shows how far Rama’s nation has come; equally, it is serving to highlight the distance it still has to travel.
