Sali Berisha, right-wing veteran

Sali Berisha, a political veteran who is a symbol of the fall of communism, is hoping to return to power after 12 years in opposition.The country’s first non-communist president and a former prime minister, he became leader of the right-wing opposition in 2022, joining forces with more than 20 parties in the hope of ousting Rama from power.The 80-year-old is promising a “Great Albania” with an election manifesto based on the country’s economic revival, similar to Donald Trump in the United States.As prime minister from 2005 to 2013, Berisha, a cardiologist by training, stepped down as head of the Democratic Party he founded. He named his close ally Lulzim Basha as his successor but the pair fell out.For the campaign, Berisha has engaged US political consultant Chris LaCivita, assuring that he would be the architect of his return to power.LaCivita, Trump’s campaign co-manager, stood next to Berisha at every electoral rally.Addressing the crowd in English, LaCivita argued that the “only future for Albania is for Berisha to be prime minister”.Berisha has been banned from entering the United States and Britain because of his alleged involvement in organised crime and corruption, He is also being prosecuted in Albania for “passive corruption”.But Berisha has repeatedly rejected the charges against him as politically motivated and accused Rama of being behind them.Berisha’s opponents see him as representative of a corrupt political system and responsible for the chaos of 1997, when more than 2,000 were killed in an armed rebellion. The unrest was triggered by the collapse of a fraudulent pyramid investment scheme that he had allowed to flourish.