Prime Minister Edi Rama conducted an exclusive interview on the show "Off the Record" with journalist Andrea Danglli on A2 CNN. Read the most interesting parts of it below.
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"There is still one more link to break." Rama explains in "Off the Record" why the May 11 elections matter
Prime Minister Edi Rama said in an exclusive interview on "Off the Record" on A2 CNN, with journalist Andrea Danglli, that the May 11 elections are the most important for the country, because of the major objective that Albania has, that of full integration into the great European family.
"The May 11 elections will determine the strength that Albania will have to face the EU integration process, which we have as our objective the year 2027. For the first time since the fall of communism, the EU has opened the door to us and we must let it close. May 11 plays an important role in this regard," said Rama, writes A2 CNN.
According to him, the vote for the Socialist Party on May 11th, separates Albania from the past. "The separation from the past and especially from our past, as a country and people, is not a place, it is a process. And in fact the chains of the past have been very long and today there is one last link left to break. And with Albania's entry into the EU, the past is finally the past and the future becomes finally today", Rama added.
The promise of water 24 hours a day, Rama: It is not a broken promise, the people know it and vote massively for the SP
In past campaigns, when seeking the votes of Albanians, Edi Rama and the Socialist Party promised, among other things, water 24 hours a day, and many others. Are there any statements Edi Rama would not have liked to have made in past campaigns, such as "If you don't do a job for 8 years, don't do it anymore", or "Water 24 hours"...
"No, I have no problem with what I said. When I spoke about drinking water, I had a certain picture in mind. And when I started working with my team, we saw that the situation was even worse than we could see from the outside," the prime minister responded on "Off the Record" with Andrea Dangli on A2 CNN.
"But today we have the facts in front of us, from a country that had only 4 urban areas with 24-hour water, we have a country that has 43 urban areas, 98 rural areas, there are 11 other areas that are currently under construction and there are still 5 remaining areas that belong to the fourth mandate. So the reason why these kinds of harassment that are used to show that this drinking water is an unfulfilled promise do not work is that the people know, they have water in the tap. Therefore, it turns out that Albanians think that the country is going in the right direction and as the polls show, they massively vote for the Socialist Party."
"I think Albanians are smarter than me, and precisely because I respect the happiness of this people, I am very careful about what I say and how I convey the things I do or want to do," he added.
"Political autism was sleeping somewhere in my head"... Rama: I felt guilty in the face of hurting even a single mother
During this campaign for the May 11 elections, Prime Minister Edi Rama was forced to apologize for using the term "political autistic" for people who chose to vote for the opposition and not for the Socialist Party.
Asked on "Off the Record" with Andrea Dangli on A2 CNN why he used that term, but also about the vocabulary he uses in general for the opposition, Rama replied: "Satire and caricatures do not fall into bullying. They have a special status in today's world, because democracy and freedom of expression, satire and caricature, consider them as high forms of expression... You also included the word autistic there. I have used it completely differently than it was manipulated, because I have spoken about political autism. And if you refer to the literature, you will find this terminology in academic and political literature, used very often."
"I made this explanation too, because it was somewhere sleeping in my head and came out at that moment. But in the face of the hurt of even one single mother of an autistic child, I felt guilty and apologized to all those parents of autistic children, who, in addition to others, because I, - due to my duty, I have also learned about autism, are extraordinary children - while I expressed all my disgust for those who used this expression to include it in this general categorization."
What are "swamps" and "owls" according to Edi Rama?
In an exclusive interview on "Off the Record" on A2 CNN, with journalist Andrea Danglli, Prime Minister Edi Rama gave an explanation for the terms he used most during this campaign, "swamp" and "swamp owl", addressed to the leader of the Democratic Party, Sali Berisha.
"The swamp is not bullying. It is a metaphor for a very concrete and very tangible reality. Our opposition is a swamp, it is stagnant water. It has been left at the mercy of a hopeless individual who has taken the entire opposition hostage, while he can barely connect his own sentences, because age has also taken its toll. So it is a swamp," said Rama.
"This individual, who has actually acquired a status, a status that you all have given him, accepting all the tar and paint that he spits out every day for anyone outside the perimeter of the swamp, for me he exactly personifies the swamp owl. The bird that lives in the swamp, that feeds on the creatures inside. Because this individual feeds on the creatures inside. That is why that party, born as a party of hope, cannot escape the clutches of this owl and remains a swamp where all those who are a little different, or are swallowed by the owl, drown in the waters of the swamp. The primaries were the most spectacular example of what I am saying, how the winners of the primaries were swallowed by the owl and disappeared from the lists. If it were a race, the winners would not end up in the belly of the owl and would not be wanted persons, in the sense that it is not known where they are, from the point of view of "politics".
TikTok closed, but Noizy sings for him in the campaign, Rama: I don't know him for being violent, he's pleasant in conversation
Prime Minister Edi Rama was asked on "Off the Record" with journalist Andrea Danglli on A2 CNN about the choice of Rigels Rajku, known as Noizy, to sing the Socialist Party's campaign song, a rapper known for his violent lyrics. This decision, at a time when the government led by him blocked access to the social network TikTok precisely because of the violent videos promoted there.
"He is not the person, he is the character. So the character is presented in that musical current that has those characteristics. And we are not yet a place where we can shut up singers. For me, the other side has only one melody, which is kua-kua-kua, the melody of the swamp. Meanwhile, as for the person, he is a man that I do not know at all for being violent, but a very talented guy, but completely pleasant in conversation. I have not seen anything else but them," said Rama.
Asked if he would have demanded the closure of TikTok if he had been in opposition, Rama replied: "We closed TikTok at the request of 95% of the parents and teachers of the Republic of Albania."
"The EPP resolution, a lightning bolt written by swamp frogs, the party leaders will be in Tirana on May 16th"
Prime Minister Edi Rama called the resolution adopted by the European People's Parties this week, linking Albania's European future to free elections, "swamp paper."
"It's a flash of lightning from the swamp. I know very well how party conferences that all come together work. A party inserts a text there, it's written from top to bottom by the group of frogs that deal with this topic, and they pass it over. But in the meantime, I would like to inform you that all the prime ministers of those parties who were at that meeting, as well as the EC president and the EC chairman, etc., will be in Tirana on May 16. And the fact that they are coming to Tirana to hold the European Political Community Summit speaks very clearly about what Albania is today," Rama said on "Off the Record" with Andrea Dangli on A2 CNN.
Asked when the contested elections in our country will end, Rama recalled the elections when the Socialist Party won its first mandate. "Those elections in 2013 were not contested because whoever was in charge of organizing them lost and had nothing to contest. But as long as the swamp owl watches over the swamp, there will be no accepted elections in Albania."
Candidates with problems with SPAK on the SP lists, Rama: We have internal criteria, not the ones you see from the outside
Prime Minister Edi Rama commented on "Off the Record" with Andrea Dangli on A2 CNN on the selection made for the candidate lists for the May 11 elections.
Asked about the inclusion of several mayors on the lists, he said: "They will bring added value in their capacity as representatives of the community where they have succeeded."
Regarding people who have problems with SPAK, such as Plarent Ndreca, while names like Ditmir Bushati and Denis Deliu are missing, the prime minister added: "He is not a defendant or convicted. When we compile the lists, we have a certain list of criteria that are not simply related to what you can see from the outside, but to many other aspects that have to do with the team, dedication, etc. The fact that they are not part of it does not mean that they are worth less."
"Secular version of the late LSI", Rama attacks new parties: They have no governing capacity
Prime Minister Edi Rama attacked the new parties competing in the May 11 parliamentary elections, calling them "a secular version of the late LSI."
"If you look at our team, it is much younger than the others, including those who are young only in age and say "We are the new one coming" and it is at the same time the oldest team, because there is interference between new energy and experience. They have neither new ideas, nor programs different from the programs of any kind of speculative force that has nothing in hand, that promises everything except mother and father and has, above all, no governing capacity," Rama said on "Off the Record" with Andrea Dangli on A2 CNN.
"I was able to see some of the main things and I also saw the destructive, aggressive approach and the scandalous language and I saw how, for example, while Albania should close negotiations with the EU in 2027, they say that if this job comes to us, we will go to early elections. In other words, they are simply a secular version of the late LSI."
DP lobbying, Rama: Only the tip of the iceberg, a corrupt and frightening contract
Prime Minister Edi Rama called the Democratic Party's lobbying contract in the US corrupt and frightening. From the studio of "Off the Record", with Andrea Dangli on A2 CNN, Rama said that, despite the fact that the SP has done the same thing in the past, it has never reached figures like the DP's, which according to reports is worth 6 million dollars.
"We as a party have done it, we have done it at a certain moment when we thought it had a certain value, but experience has shown us that any amount of money, although we have never gone, not even in imagination, to amounts like these that have appeared in recent days in the corrupt and frightening contract in a way, because it is only the tip of an iceberg and that money shows a deforming capacity of the elections themselves and we have not seen any added value from this practice. If a situation similar to the situations that pushed us to do it at that time were to arise today, I would not do it today," said Rama.
Berisha has Trump's strategist, Rama reveals for the first time Angela Merkel's man who advises him
The Democratic Party hired Chris LaCivita to run the DP campaign, the man who co-managed Donald Trump's campaign in last year's US elections. Asked if the SP has done the same, Prime Minister Edi Rama said on "Off the Record" with Andrea Dangli on A2 CNN that he does not need advisors and revealed for the first time who Angela Merkel's man is with whom he collaborates on economic issues.
"We don't need campaign consultants, we need governance advice, that's why I have external advisors, Angela Merkel's chief economist for 10 years, Lars-Hendrik Röller, one of the greatest personalities in the field. I am fortunate to consult with Ricardo Hausmann, he is the director of the Center for International Development at Harvard University, and both of them are two extraordinary sources of knowledge regarding economics, finance and aspects of development, while as far as campaign advice is concerned, I was fortunate to work with someone who has been dead for years, I have learned enough from him and I can do everything myself," Rama said.
From a disaster for the world to the man who will wake up Europe, Rama reveals why he changed his mind about Donald Trump
Prime Minister Edi Rama commented on "Off the Record" on A2 CNN about his change of stance on Donald Trump, whom he once said would be a disaster for the entire world if elected president.
"I made that statement about the presidential candidate. Then he became president of the United States. I had the opportunity to know him, I followed him as everyone followed him. There is no doubt that I respect him as president of the United States," Rama said.
What did Rama say about Trump in 2016?
Far be it! I believe it would be very damaging to the United States and very damaging to the democratic world, because at the end of the day he would have to do some of the things he is saying he will do and without a doubt, that would be very damaging. I also hope that in the meantime he will be able to learn more about the world, learn more about Muslims, learn more about how there are many people, regardless of their faith or ethnicity, who proudly live by the values that America represents and defend these values, even through the sacrifice of their children, in the wars they fight alongside America.
Edi Rama, interview for CNN
What did Rama say about Trump in March 2025?
Perhaps, God saved Donald Trump's life not only to make America great again, but also to finally wake up Europe and make it understand that it cannot continue as if the world were the same, because it is not the same.
Edi Rama, March 2025, during his speech at the reception of the “International Charlemagne Prize” in Tirana
What happened to Sazani Island? Rama on "Off the Record": It's serious, it started when Trump could go to jail
Prime Minister Edi Rama called the project to build a tourist resort on the island of Sazan, which also involves US President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, very serious.
"That idea has advanced, and will advance until the end, because it has nothing to do with Donald Trump. And again, even today that he is president of the USA, that project has nothing to do with Donald Trump. It was not done because Donald Trump was a candidate for president, because it started when no one considered him a possible winner and even most thought that he would go to prison and it will not continue because he is president today. It is already a very serious project and will continue. It has also received approval from the National Council of Territories as a start, it will come for a second approval, according to the law, and it will continue," Rama said on "Off the Record" with Andrea Dangli on A2 CNN.
What will be built in Sazan?
In January of this year, the Strategic Investment Committee, headed by Prime Minister Edi Rama, approved strategic investor status for Kushner's 1.4 billion Euro project to build luxury resorts on Albania's only island.
The decision of the Strategic Investment Committee states that "the investment project meets the employment criteria required by the legislation on strategic investments." It further states that the tourist resorts will be built on an area of 45 hectares of land, and the improvement and repair of the current marina in Sazan is foreseen, writes A2 CNN.
Given that Sazan Island is owned by the Ministry of Defense and part of the military deployment plan, the decision of the Strategic Investment Committee was preceded by a presidential decree that removed this area from the military deployment plan.
Kushner will not be alone in this investment, as the decision clarifies that the Albanian state will also participate in the investment.
"I'm the prime minister, that guy is the president", Rama: I haven't tried to meet Don Jr., I have no reason
A few days ago, the son of the American President, Donald Trump, denied a news report that he had canceled a meeting with Prime Minister Edi Rama. Rama himself, asked about this issue on “Off the Record” with Andrea Dangli on A2 CNN, said that he had no plans to meet with Donald Trump Jr.
"I neither know him, nor have I attempted to meet him. Nor do I have any reason to attempt to meet him, because he is the president's son and I am the prime minister of Albania. If he comes to Albania, he is very welcome, but for me to attempt to meet him somewhere else, I don't know for what reason," Rama said.
Although he does not hold a position in the administration, Trump Jr. visited Belgrade, where he met with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. The visit caused a stir in Kosovo and Albania, because in a podcast with the Serbian president, he published a map showing Kosovo as part of Serbia.
Russian and Serbian media commented on this as a turn in American policy and a guarantee that Serbian authorities will have more understanding in the White House when it comes to the Kosovo issue. Vučić told the US president's son how he regularly reminds European officials that international law, to which they refer when talking about the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, does not apply to Serbia and its territorial integrity.
Don Jr. also visited Greenland, the island part of Denmark, which his father wants to make part of the United States.
The absence of the American ambassador in Tirana, Rama: The US, close enough to Albania, I haven't been making news about meetings with diplomats for a while
Since June 26, 2023, when Yuri Kim left Albania, the United States of America has not yet sent an ambassador to our country, while it is represented by Chargé d'Affaires, Nancy VanHorn.
Rama does not see the absence of an American ambassador in the country as a departure of the Americans. "I have stopped making news about meetings with ambassadors since I came to office, even when I was in the municipality I did not do it... only on rare occasions, because it seems to me the most pointless thing. The US is close enough to Albania and I do not see any departure. Meanwhile, as far as their internal functioning is concerned, it is not my issue, it is their issue," the prime minister said on "Off the Record" with Andrea Dangli on A2 CNN.
Population aging and abandonment of villages, Rama: Trend that we are growing economically, Albanians will return
United Nations reports estimate that Albania leads in declining birth rates and population aging, but Prime Minister Edi Rama does not see this as a worrying problem.
The head of government said on "Off the Record", with Andrea Dangli on A2 CNN that "demography is a concern for all of Europe", not just for Albania, but the decline in birth rates, according to him, "is a characteristic of countries that grow economically, always."
Furthermore, the Prime Minister shared the belief that Albanians will return from exile as soon as the Socialist Party, according to him, makes the country's membership in the EU possible, in 2030.
"They threaten it if we talk about a very long term, but in the meantime I am very confident that the signs of Albanians returning will come stronger and the moment we manage to join Albania in the EU and increase salaries to where we have projected them in Albania 2023, Albanians will return here more and more," Rama declared on "Off the Record", with Andrea Dangli on A2 CNN.
Rama: With the European passport, Albania will become as big as the EU and the EU will become smaller than Albania
Prime Minister Edi Rama explained in "Off the Record" with Andrea Dangli, on A2 CNN, the importance of the European passport, which the Socialist Party has made the main promise of the electoral campaign for the May 11 elections.
"The European passport is a new status, for you personally, since today, you are an Albanian, you are a foreigner to the EU, despite being part of a people that is among the oldest in Europe, and that geographically resides right in the heart of Europe. By receiving that passport, you will no longer be a foreigner in the EU and Albania will become as big as the EU and the EU will become as small as Albania. This is the European passport," Rama explained on "Off the Record" with Andrea Dangli, on A2 CNN.
Rama continued by saying that we are not dealing with symbolism, but the importance of living as an EU citizen, benefiting from health, educational services, etc.
"This is not symbolic and the queue at the airport is shorter. If you are a foreigner in the EU, as a foreigner you are not equal to EU citizens. While you have a European passport you are equal to all EU citizens. Students will not pay ten times as much, as they pay today when they are not EU citizens. They have the same access to the European health system, etc. So we become citizens of a very large space that is no longer surrounded by the borders of Albania, but of the EU", said Rama on "Off the Record" with Andrea Dangli, on A2 CNN.
"Serbia is keeping us supplied with milk", Rama: Albania has the highest GDP and the lowest prices in the region
Set in "Off the Record" in the face of import figures that show increases and decreases in domestic production, and the fact that Serbian milk is found on supermarket shelves, Prime Minister Edi Rama admitted that Albania's industry is "less developed compared to the region."
"This is true," said the head of government, further explaining that this is because "the region has an industry inherited from the time of Yugoslavia which was not sent for scrap, as we sent it to Albania, where everything was leveled."
"Even the military industry, which was the most powerful in the region at the time, was leveled here," Rama claimed on "Off the Record" with Andrea Dangli, on A2 CNN.
But for the Prime Minister, there is another truth, where Albania stands out above its neighbors in the region, and which is related to the momentum of tourism in our country.
"There is another aspect, but this is just as true. We have a new tourism industry, where we have surpassed the entire region and today, not coincidentally, we have the airport with the highest growth in all of Europe. We have surpassed the Belgrade airport in terms of passenger numbers, so these things need to be seen in the complex, not just one piece is taken, to show that we are the last," Rama declared on "Off the Record" with Andrea Dangli, on A2 CNN.
The socialist leader further said that we "are the country with the highest Gross National Product, in this decade, in the region." Rama claims that in this regard we have a deep difference with other countries, and moreover, we dominate them even with the prices of basic foods, which are the lowest.
"We have the lowest price increase, referring to the IMF and all other international organizations. And we have the highest wage increase in the region, as well as the highest increase in Gross National Product in the region, in the last decade. We had less than 3 billion euros in exports, now we have more than 9 billion euros. The average of the region is much lower than the growth of Gross National Product. We started with less than 10 billion euros, today we are 25 billion euros. And this is production... And we project 35 billion euros in Albania 2030. We produce, but on the other hand, let's not forget that we are in an open market and of course the logic of the lowest price works and whoever has critical mass also has the capacity to offer lower prices", emphasized the Prime Minister in "Off the Record" with Andrea Dangli, on A2 CNN.
"EU blocked funds for corruption", Rama denies it: 500 projects have been financed with IPARD funds
Prime Minister Edi Rama has described the European Union's investigations into corruption with IPARD II program funds, which are suspected to have been misused by the Ministry of Agriculture in Albania, as addressing several irregularities.
Rama said on "Off the Record" with Andrea Dangli on A2 ÇN that 500 projects in the country have been financed through the IPARD II scheme, as the funds were released after the government addressed the problem, drawing attention from the EU.
"A significant portion of that fund has been disbursed and today in Albania there are 500 projects that did not exist before and to which this fund has contributed. And as has happened in other cases within the EU, the last case was in Croatia, the European Commission has an audit structure, it has found some irregularities and has requested that we address the irregularities from a systemic point of view and we are doing this," Rama said on "Off the Record" with Andrea Dangli, on A2 ÇN.
Rama reveals good news for pensioners on "Off the Record"
The average pension in the fourth term of the Rama government will be 400 euros. This was stated by Socialist leader Edi Rama in "Off the Record" with Andrea Dangli, on A2 CNN, adding that the pension reform that the Socialist Party has applied has resulted in effectiveness and more benefits for this layer of society.
According to Rama, if one bloc of pensioners knows why they benefit less than the other bloc for the same years of work, "they blame the swamp." Meanwhile, the fact that someone else has higher benefits, according to Rama, is precisely "because of the reform we have made."
"It is successful because we have two blocks of pensioners, one block, the one that came out after the reform, has much higher pensions than the one that came out before the reform. And with those who came out before the reform, we have been very clear, that we have changed the entire system so that the next generation does not fall into the pit. But we are also aware that we must be closer to them. Right now, because now the economy has started to spin at a pace that will not stop even in the next four years. And having higher incomes, we will increase the minimum pension. And in the meantime, we will go, according to the analyses we have done, to an average pension of 400 euros, for those with full insurance", declared Rama in "Off the Record" with Andrea Dangli, on A2 CNN.
For the prime minister, pensioners are the only ones who “do not live in the shell of the media world, but live in real life.” Rama says that for all these reasons, this segment of the population will vote for the Socialist Party on May 11th.
"Pensioners are the best at arithmetic. Because here a big arithmetic contest has started. 7x7 makes 42, now it turns out that they don't make 42, they make 6 million. While they don't just calculate their pensions, they, unlike others, keep their eyes on the owl, they also follow what we say about them and for this reason, they will vote for the Socialist Party in the majority because they know that we are serious," Rama said on "Off the Record" with Andrea Dangli, on A2 CNN.
Will you remain silent or attack SPAK? Rama: Only I and the SP are the guarantors of justice
Prime Minister Edi Rama considers relations with the judiciary important for the fourth mandate, which the Socialist Party aims to win in the May 11 elections.
Rama said on "Off the Record" with Andrea Dangli on A2 CNN that the media interprets his relationship with SPAK in a narrow way, but what is certain is that the SP is the guarantor of the new justice.
"It is useless to go back and tell you that you interpret it narrowly. What is important today is that all Albanians must understand that, on May 11, all Albanians must win the SP, must join the SP, for a very simple reason beyond all others, but for a fundamental reason: At the moment we are the only guarantors of the first attempt in history for equality before the law. It has never happened before in our history. These things are happening today for only one reason, for the determination and dedication of the SP in relation to the trust received from the people that those who deal with comments, they greatly reduce what I say or greatly reduce the symbolism of my campaigns," Rama said on "Off the Record" with Andrea Dangli on A2 CNN.
Further, the Prime Minister underlined that the government's request to Albanians in 2013 to reform the justice system proved to be a promise kept.
"When I said, give me the wheel so that I don't have others on my lap to guarantee justice reform, because I want justice that strikes left and right, time has shown that they did very well to give me the wheel without others on my lap and today we have justice that strikes left and right, this is the truth," Rama declared on "Off the Record" with Andrea Dangli on A2 CNN.
But for justice, according to Rama, "to be guaranteed once and for all, it should not be left in the hands of those who govern, or who will govern in Albania in the future, but Albania should be locked inside the main salon of the European Union, because only there is no place for anyone who governs here to play games with justice."
Rama closed the chapter on SPAK, justice and the fight against corruption by underlining that this is the reason why he needs a fourth term.
"The apparent establishment of problems is nothing more than a contribution in function of a great goal, which is this goal. But what is important is that the inviolability and independence of the justice institutions cannot be discussed and the only guarantors for it are us, the SP and me at its head. The fight against corruption is very important and we are doing it with extraordinary will. And precisely because we are doing it with extraordinary will, the European Union has opened the door for us. And we are opening with a speed that has not happened before for other countries. We are by far the first in the region for the integrity of public procurement, according to the European Commission. We have made a historic leap in the management of public finances and we are the first in the region in the management of public finances, according to the European Commission. We have made a historic leap in public administration and therefore we have a high assessment there too. Of course, there is still work to be done. This is precisely why I want a fourth mandate for the SP, because there is still work to be done", Rama said in "Off the Record" with Andrea Dangli on A2 CNN.
Why doesn't he debate with Berisha? Rama: He didn't leave me for dead without spitting on me
In "Off the Record" with Andrea Dangli, on A2 CNN, Prime Minister Edi Rama commented for the first time on the invitation to debate, which his rival, Sali Berisha, has made several times during this electoral campaign.
Asked why he refuses to confront the leader of the DP, Rama said: "He does not meet the conditions to have the fortune of a debate with me, a tar-and-ink individual who has not left my house, dead or alive, without spitting on it or trampling it with his feet."
The same question was asked to the head of government about the other 10 candidates in the race for prime minister, some of whom, such as Adriatik Lapaj and Lulzim Basha, have invited him to a debate. "I don't know them as opponents in the sense... They are now, but with Lul, I don't think I can do more than communicate with a "selfie" video," Rama replied on "Off the Record" with Andrea Dangli, on A2 CNN.
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