Today I had an interview with Erion Veliaj, the Mayor of Tirana. Erion was actually one of the few things that I knew about Albania and Tirana before I set foot here around six months ago and I was keen to interview him.
Prior to coming to Tirana, I had stumbled across a documentary and several clips which showed a young Erion speaking passionately about social justice and anti-corruption. Now, a member of the governing Socialist Party, and the Mayor of the capital, I was interested to find out more about his path from passionate young activist, to politician and Mayor in a country that is trying to find its feet.
I sat waiting in the Bashkia, not quite sure what to expect. I had prepared a few questions, but having experience with politicians, I knew full well that we were more than likely to go off on a bit of a tangent. He came bursting in, a smiling ball of energy warmly shook my hand and invited me into his expansive office. Vast and eclectic in its design, the shelves were full of interesting and curious objects, books lined the walls, and some sort of bicycle was propped up to one side. Inviting me to sit on the couch, he asked how I was doing and how I was finding Tirana. After a bit of light conversation around how I ended up here, The Balkanista, and my love for the country, I decided to jump straight in with a tough question.
I asked him to begin at the beginning and to explain how we went from being an activist with Mjaft to sitting in one of the most powerful seats in the country and how this journey was able to coexist with his activist ideals.
His face changed- quickly becoming serious and I feared I had struck a nerve. He started to tell me about his younger years and that he had never wanted to live in Albania. He told me that after being educated in America, he travelled and worked on a range of humanitarian projects abroad before landing in Northern Albania helping with the aftermath of the Kosovan war before travelling on to the Americas and Eastern Africa.
He explained that as time passed, it became clear to him that Albania needed help and that he wanted to be a big part of giving it. Upon arriving back in Tirana and mingling with like-minded people who all desired change, the concept of Mjaft was born.
Meaning “Enough” in Albanian, their goals were to make significant changes to the wrongs, the ills, and the failings that they felt were holding back the progress of their society. Through the means of organising protests, rallies, petitions, street theatre, and producing satire, they started to take the baby steps of change.
He regaled me with one story where Mjaft were responsible for depositing a herd of donkeys outside the building where the government were debating the budget inside- much to the confusion and exasperation of the police and security personnel. But this wasn’t enough. Stunted by the apparent sense of apathy from the vast majority of citizens as well as frustration caused by change not coming quick enough, Erion said he wanted to take a more proactive approach to making a difference.
During the 2013 Albanian parliamentary election, he was elected as an MP for the district of Gjirokaster and then between September 2013 and April 2015, Veliaj served as the Minister of Social Welfare and Youth in the cabinet of Edi Rama. Then in April 2015, he was selected as the Socialist Party’s candidate for the Mayor of Tirana- a position which he won by a landslide of 53.58% of the vote. His ascension to the Socialist Party came after a failed attempt at election to parliament with this own G99 party in 2011 and it was this I was interested in probing further.
I asked him how he went from opposing a party, to joining its ranks- was it a case of selling out or taking an opportunity to join forces? At first the mayor was reluctant to answer, doing that politician thing where they swerve and avoid, but eventually he talked of combining efforts to work towards a greater change. Breathing life and youth into the stale political scene and working to eradicate apathy from voters were the main agendas, he said.
I wasn’t satisfied with the answer but before I knew it he had swiftly moved the conversation on to a topic that he wanted to discuss-the environment. There were several points I wanted to bring up with him such as the state of the pavements- how can you ever convince people to reduce car usage when walking on the sidewalks is akin to an obstacle course? Why are you just planting trees and painting pictures on walls when people are struggling to put food on the table? And why is the city of Tirana completely inaccessible to disabled people?
I made it clear that I was not asking these questions from a neo-colonial point of view, but rather because to me, these are things that would significantly improve the city I love and the life of people in it.
Of course, he did not directly answer each question but rather he stated that they are all things that need addressing and they are all things that will be, in due course, tackled by him and his office. He was quick to point out however, that money doesn’t grow on trees (I don’t think he understood my joke at this point) and that taxpayer dollars are needed to fund such projects as well as the fact that such things cannot be undertaken overnight.
Speaking of trees, I decided to ask him how he feels about his critics. I have heard many people talk about the thousands of trees that he is involved in planting and how this is all he seems to do, with little attention to the more pressing societal issues. His face changed in a flash and he changed from friendly and jovial, to taking absolutely no prisoners.
Erion believes that no matter what he does, or the government does, some people are always going to bitch, moan and criticise. “Part of being a politician and a public figure is to lay yourself open to criticism, yet the people that are often the most vocal in terms of complaining, are the least forthcoming with alternatives or suggestions for better ways to do things”, he claims.
He added that he will continue to plant trees (many of which are donated by citizens he said), build playgrounds, and post pictures on Instagram because all of this is an important part of developing the city to fulfil his vision.
“Inspiring people, motivating people and capturing the interest of the younger generation” are an important part of this process he added and whilst people are free to criticise, he points out that as no one has yet invented a machine capable of recycling the toxins out of the air, he will continue to plant trees. He seems pretty convinced on his environmental agenda and there was little I could do to probe any further.
I went into this interview with mixed feelings- I am by nature, wary of politicians and mistrusting of what they say. I am savvy to well-oiled PR machines and the public personas that are carefully crafted to hide a multitude of sins. There is no doubt that Mr Veliaj is well rehearsed in his answers and he left little opportunity for me to ask my questions, or to press for answers that he dodged.
I think that Erion Veliaj has moved away from his activist roots which is something I still don’t understand, but he seems to be confident that he is what Tirana needs. From what he said and the enthusiasm with which he said it, I agree. I hope that some of that passionate young Mjaft activist is still there.
This is a youthful city with an average age of 28 years. It is full of life, soul, and vibrancy and as such, it needs someone who possesses the same qualities to lead it.
From what I have seen of Tirana, I feel that there needs to be less gentrification and more attention to social issues and things like disabled access and holes in the pavements. From what he says, I think he could have what it takes to turn Tirana into the place it deserves to be.
It is his job to create a city where communities are connected, where trash is picked up and recycled, where art, creativity, and inspiration flow freely, and where open spaces can be enjoyed by all.
He told me that his vision for Tirana is to make it a beautiful, modern city with happy inhabitants and well-educated children that not only respect the world around them, but that appreciate it as well.
Whilst I don’t agree in glossing over glaring social issues, I do believe that promoting a positive attitude and making many small contributions to society is more beneficial than larger, empty gestures.
Before I left, I had one more question for Veliaj which I was determined to ask- “do you have any plan to run for Prime Minister?”
He shuffled uncomfortably in his chair and laughed; “No, no, no my priority is Tirana, I am not interested in anything else for now.”
At this point his communciations secretary chipped in and said ” I love working here and with him, every day is not like a real day at work, but rather something fun”. With my typical British humour, I replied “how much did he pay you to say that?” and laughed, but my joke fell on deaf ears. Everyone looked a bit uncomfortable and clearly didn’t realise I meant it as a joke.
As I walked out of the building, I glanced at my notebook and realised I hadn’t been able to ask a number of my questions. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what I thought of the interview, or Me Veliaj as a person, but my impression was that as a Mayor he was doing a good job with Tirana. As someone who is passionate about the environment, I hadn’t seen anyone else coming up with green initiatives, even in the countries I lived in before so to hear him speak on these matters was refreshing.
Let us forget the turbulence of politics for one moment, and let us remember that what people really need are leaders and figures that will chip away at the status quo and avash avash take the country on the path to reaching its full potential. Rome was not built in a day and for the changes and progress of Tirana to be truly sustainable, solid foundations need to be laid,
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