Where this was said
Meet Edi Rama: Painter, Basketball Player, Strongman
At 20:20 · chapter starts 16:44
The episode pivots to an extended, colorful portrait of the man at the center of the political storm: Edi Rama [1] — Jakob Weissmann "Edi Rama is 6'6", a former basketball player and painter, now in his 13th year as Albania's prime minister. He wears white sneakers to EU m…" 16:44 . He is, by any measure, a character — a 6'6" former professional basketball player whose grandfather chauffeured the Albanian king and whose father was a sculptor connected to the communist regime. Rama turned to painting and teaching before entering politics, and now combines high-concept vision with a street-level personality: he curses in interviews, wears white sneakers to European summits, and runs his own podcast. He's been in power for 13 years and has overseen a genuine tourism boom, with visitor numbers tripling from 4 million to 12–13 million. But his inner circle has been devastated by corruption: his chosen successor is in jail, his deputy minister was dismissed, and a former deputy PM fled to exile in Switzerland. The gap between Rama's grand vision and the reality of who benefits from it is the core tension driving the protests.
Edi Rama is 6'6", a former basketball player and painter, now in his 13th year as Albania's prime minister. He wears white sneakers to EU meetings, runs his own podcast, and dreams of turning Albania into the Maldives of Europe — while his inner circle crumbles under corruption charges.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has been in power for 13 years, and his inner circle has been repeatedly hit by corruption allegations including jailings and an exile.
Albania's tourism has tripled in size over the last decade, growing from 4 million to 12–13 million visitors, one of the highest increases in tourism across Europe.
Prime Minister Rama described the Kushner investment as €4 billion in a country with a GDP of only about €27 billion, calling it a blessing for the country.
Rama told reporters the protests only exist because of Jared Kushner's Trump connection, blamed Iranian hackers, and invoked antisemitism. The Iranian Foreign Ministry fired back: maybe the flamingos are the secret agents. It's a playbook straight from Enver Hoxha.
