Berisha's persistence and Tirana's fatigue

2026-06-11 13:16:00, Opinione Lutfi Dervishi

Berisha's persistence and Tirana's fatigue. Anyone else would have accepted their fate.

When the US State Department declared him “persona non grata” in 2021, many thought Sali Berisha’s political career was over. In Albanian politics, few decisions have been seen as more definitive than his.

But Berisha chose a different path. He refused to step down. He refused to retire. He refused to accept either the role of victim or that of a former politician who nostalgically awaits the days of glory.

He chose battle.

For five years, he fought against political isolation, against opponents, against allies who abandoned him, against justice, against time, and, above all, against the idea that there is no battle with fate since his fate was sealed.

If today it turns out that his status has been removed, the biggest lesson is not for Berisha. It is for Albanian politics. Berisha's history shows that in politics nothing is final. Neither victory, nor defeat, nor rise, nor fall, nor political obituary. (Old soldiers never die)

Many leaders have been overthrown from power, but few have risen after being declared politically dead.

Berisha did this more than once. In 1997 he was considered finished. He returned.

In 2013 he was considered retired. He returned. In 2021 he was considered finally isolated. And again he remained the main actor of the opposition.

This is his political paradox: every time he is declared finished, a new chapter begins.

So what changes now?

For Berisha himself, few things. At the age of 81, he no longer needs to prove that he can survive politically. He has proven that.

The real question is for the Democratic Party.

For more than three decades, the DP has lived in Berisha's orbit. Even when he left, he remained the center of gravity. Even when he lost, he continued to be the point of reference.

By removing the "non grata", Berisha won a personal and moral battle.

But the DP's challenge remains the same: how to build the future without always having the future tied to the past.

Ultimately, the question is not whether Berisha can win another battle.

The question is whether after his latest victory the battle for the post-Berisha era will finally begin.

The history of leaders is not measured only by the ability to return, but also by the ability to pave the way. And today, the streets of Tirana are looking for the beginning of an era that is no longer defined by the names of 1991, 1998, but by the needs of 2026./ CNA