ANALYSIS / When satire turns into poison; Disruption as a strategy after political defeat

By Marenglen Kasmi

Immediately after the crushing defeat of Sali Berisha and his party in the May 11 elections, two lines with the rhyme “My Albania, a lady with a blue head, a red b... e kuche” (My Albania, a lady with a blue head, a red b... e kuche) began to circulate on social networks in viral form. These two pseudo-satirical lines are accompanied by a map of Albania, where its North is colored blue and the rest of it in deep pink. The “more satirical” versions of it add to the blue part warriors with rifles, swords and naxjaks in their hands, while in the rest some sheep grazing in pink grass. Equally alarming are the accompanying comments from readers, where regional hatred dominates.  

Before we deal with the danger conveyed by this message, it must be said that this map is built on a falsehood, since the Right did not win in Shkodër, since the PS and PSD as left-wing forces, in total, received 54.71% of the votes in this region. However, and most importantly, this pseudo-satire conceived as a form of political humor is actually a manifestation of national division, a text that incites regional hatred and tries to justify a loss by humiliating other voters. Instead of serving as a reflection, it appears vindictive, dividing Albania into worthy and unworthy, according to the vote given.

The message is clear and dangerous: The North is represented as "blue-headed", that is, pure, manly and patriotic, while over 2/3 of political Albania in 1913, as "red b...", subjugated, sold out and unworthy.

Such a label is no longer simply contemptuous, but an instigator of a deep division in society, which risks bringing back the former theses of regional division in the function of political life, but perhaps even more broadly. It is worth noting here that recently in Kosovo the theory of the "Kosovar nation" has also begun to be articulated, which implies that Kosovars are not Albanians. Think for yourself how untrue and at the same time how dangerous this thesis is. And the food for these national divisive theories cannot be accidental. The anti-Albanian circles cannot be served better.

The mention of the color red is not unintentional. Red carries with it an ideological charge that aims to present Central and Southern Albania as a bastion of communist mentality and socialist voters as heirs of totalitarian beliefs. This is a manipulation that aims to ignite old ideological divisions in a completely different reality. Today's Socialist Party no longer has any doctrinal, political or practical connection with the communist past, except in the instrumentalized labeling that political opponents use to complex its supporters. Moreover, today's Rilindja has no connection with the SP of 1991, let alone the Party of Labor. The non-appearance of any Socialist Party flag both in the campaign, but also in the victory demonstration, confirms this. But this is another issue and also requires special treatment.

The use of the red metaphor is not simply satirical, but an attempt to reawaken Cold War-era divisions, to revive the fear of “red,” and to transform Albanian politics into a staged confrontation between “moral anti-communists” and “heartless reds.” In this way, the satire deliberately gives ideological color to the electoral map itself, presenting the South as collaborators of an authoritarian government and the North as a bastion of freedom and justice. This is not only a historical lie, but a serious danger to the cohesion of the country.

It is not the first time that Berisha and his fanatical supporters have resorted to regional divisions to cover up political failures. In 1997, at one of the most difficult moments in the history of the Albanian state, he did not try to calm the country that was disintegrating from within, but on the contrary - he built a divisive rhetoric, implying that the revolt in the South was anti-national and called for help from the North, as defenders of his power. Albania went to the brink of civil war. But the popular conscience, which does not recognize the borders of the South and the North, since it is one, did not follow him in this foolishness. Of course, the international community also played a significant role in preventing this national catastrophe.

Today, with another electoral defeat, the rhetoric is the same - only the tools are more modern and faster. Instead of analyzing why Berisha cannot convince the majority of citizens, why his party remains isolated and without allies, pseudo-satire is used to vent hatred against voters. They are not treated as fellow citizens with different opinions, but as a blind crowd, without identity and morality, deserving only contempt. This is the essence of a dangerous political logic, which does not recognize pluralism, but only the division between “our people” and “the others”.

When satire becomes an instrument of division, it is no longer art, but propaganda. And when it is used to politically revive a leader who has historically been a source of tension and conflict in the country, it produces not humor, but poison! Albania does not need pseudo-satire that mocks it, but everything that helps Albanians coexist with change, with differences and with the right, to choose differently and freely.

This kind of discourse - old in content, new in form - carries the risk of democracy turning into a tribal battle and not a competition of ideas. Albanians are not divided into heads and tails, but citizens who choose with a free vote. This is what must be protected and not despised. The danger lies not with those who voted differently, but with those who do not know how to lose and who use pseudo-satire as a rifle to hit their compatriots.

Photo to which the author refers