“The ”Flamingo Protests" have long been demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Rama.
Government buildings are being set on fire now. The demonstrators refuse to be co-opted by the opposition.”
This is how the great Austrian newspaper “KURIER” opens its article.,
which reveals that on Monday Prime Minister Edi Rama will be on an official visit to Austria,
thus marking a break from the protests in Tirana.
According to the newspaper, Austria is the sixth largest foreign investor in Albania and in 2025, there was more trade between the two countries than ever before. It shows some of the largest French companies that already operate in our country.
“For the Albanian prime minister, the visit to Vienna on Monday will be a welcome break from the protests that have been simmering in his country for months. Moreover, a short visit to Austria is always like a courtesy visit to a rich relative - Austria is the sixth largest foreign investor in the country, in 2025 between the two countries there was more trade than ever before.
Companies such as Verbund, Strabag, Raiffeisen Bank, Vienna Insurance Group or CINEPLEXX are active there. In recent years, the country has flourished as a tourist destination, even for Austrians. Precisely because of its economic ties, Austria is one of the most vocal supporters of the membership of the Western Balkan countries in the EU, which Albania, a candidate for membership since June 2014, aims for by 2030. On paper, Tirana after Montenegro has the best chances for this.
While Edi Rama will be received with military honors by the federal chancellor Christian Stocker (ÖVP), protesters in Albania demand the resignation of the prime minister who has ruled for 13 years. The so-called “Flamingo Protests”, which were originally against a planned luxury tourism project, in which Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner is said to be involved, in a breeding area for flamingos, have turned into a mass fire against the government - literally,” the paper writes.
