Day 66 part 2 - meeting the prime minister and president of Albania


See all posts from category: Campaign updates, Daily diary, Political Support for the Truce

Tuesday June 28, 2020 (Part II)

Tirana, Albania

Total: 716 miles (Total: 1,365,091 steps)

“Democracy is the worst form of government, apart from all other forms that have been tried.” Sir Winston Churchill

We arrived at the presidential palace for a meeting with President Bamir Topi. I was looking forward to this as I had the privilege, as a member of the British-Albania, All Party Parliamentary Group, of having lunch with President Topi in the House of Commons when he had visited London in November last year. He is a tall, good-looking man, with an imposing presence in his presidential court. Like many Albanian political leaders, President Topi had had a distinguished career before entering politics; in Bamir Topi’s case, that was as a leading research scientist in molecular biology. As president it was possible to detect the frustration at the current political gridlock, a deep desire to see the situation resolved, and to get back on track for the real goal of EU membership.  I talked about the Olympic Truce, but in comparison to the immediate political pressures, it seemed almost irrelevant. I suggested that it could be that if the parties could come together to agree a response to implement the truce, then in agreeing in a small thing, they might demonstrate that it was possible to agree on greater things. “Maybe.”  As I left, I felt almost guilty that I had raised the issue of the truce with him, as he was clearly a man wrestling with urgent matters of state, but who knows…

From the presidential palace, we went briefly to the parliament and sat in the chamber, which looked strange given that half the chamber that should have been occupied by the Opposition, was empty; so votes went through 74—0. The Speaker, Jozefina Topalli, with whom we would meet the next day, kindly acknowledged our presence in the chamber and there was a polite round of applause. As I observed the parliament, I reflected that this institution was only twenty years old, and if there were a few teething problems along the way then that was to be expected and we shouldn’t panic; second, I rather liked the ‘theatre-style’, rather than the confrontational arrangement of the seating that we have in our own parliament. It seemed more appropriate in reminding members that they are together as the legislature of the nation whatever their differences—though the argument was slightly shot through by the half empty chamber. I find that the addition of the crossbenches in the House of Lords facilitates this more reasoned and less adversarial approach—perhaps that might be the first change in the Commons—the addition of crossbenches? Finally, I was a big fan of the electronic voting systems, which recorded the results within seconds and showed who had voted which way, without the need for division bells, voting lobbies and reading the breakdown of votes in Hansard the next morning.

Next we made the short walk across the road to the residence of the prime minister, Sali Berisha MP, where we had been invited for a private lunch. It was an amazing experience to have such access to political leaders; I recalled how I had tried for nine months to get a meeting with our Olympic’s Minister to discuss the truce at Westminster and that his office still couldn’t find a slot before I left. Of course this is not a reflection on him, but on me—I recall one colleague who described me astutely as ‘too diffident to make a difference’. On one classic occasion, which made the case, I had a meeting in October 2020 to discuss the Olympic Truce with Andrew Mitchell MP, our outstanding Secretary of State for International Development, who agreed to see me in Central Lobby, Westminster. I had carefully prepared for the meeting and then waited and waited past ten o’clock and no sign of the minister—I immediately assumed that something else had come up. As I was sitting looking dejected, a brilliant new MP and supporter of the truce, Rory Stewart, came to enquire how the campaign was going.  I said that I had been hoping to meet Andrew Mitchell, but he hadn’t showed: Rory immediately took out his mobile phone, found the Secretary of State’s private mobile and called him, asking him where he was—“Waiting for Bates in my office!” came the reply. A simple miscommunication about meeting point resolved and a very positive meeting was rescued. Well I am no Rory Stewart, that is for sure, but the next best thing is to be in Tirana with Anthony Cordle.

Again the prime minister is a man of impeccable credentials, a heart surgeon who had been part of the team that had been responsible for the health of previous Albanian dictator, Enver Hoxha. Now Sali Berisha was, following constitutional changes, all-powerful in Albania; although even the prime minister is unable to make politicians attend parliament. Before entering the private dining room, Gerti mentioned that the prime minister tended to eat each course quickly, and that when he finished, then all the plates were removed; so if I was hungry then I better eat quick then talk. That seemed to come naturally, so I followed the advice and had a good lunch. Sali Berisha is a charismatic leader, with the charisma coming less from a hyper-activity, and more from such a vast understanding and awareness of politics – not only in Albanian, but around the world. In response to my rather tentative presentation of the case for the truce, Professor Dr. Sali Berisha, MP (to give his full titles) gave a brilliant exposition of the nature of violence and conflict—I just sat in awe, though still eating quickly. We then discussed what an Albanian observation of Olympic Truce might look like.  The prime minister expressed his desire to do more in promoting the rights of women in Afghanistan, where Albania is part of the NATO forces, focusing on working with educational opportunities for women.  As we talked, an idea took shape – a logical extension for the truce, could be looking to do something in Afghanistan to promote opportunities for sport amongst women. It was the first concrete idea of the walk and I was hugely uplifted as I left the residence.

Could this have been the breakthrough moment I wondered? Perhaps, but a potentially even greater one was about to unfold back in Westminster …

2 Responses to Day 66 part 2 – meeting the prime minister and president of Albania

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