Artur Bibe, one of the best Albanian reporters who knows the politics of the official Athens as well as the developments of the Hellenic calcelars in relation to Albania, used an apt metaphor for the "Beleri" case.
Reporting from Athens, he described this case as "minced meat" to be served as cold meatballs by Tirana and official Athens in political embarrassment.
And in fact, on the day of his arrest, it was said by us that Fredi Beleri is an "election card" more than for May 14, where the local elections of Albania were, for May 21, which are the parliamentary elections of Greece. And as the bets seem, the "Greek kaon" as the man who narrowly won on May 14 calls himself, will continue to be a card, even for the new elections that will take place at the end of June, which serve Kyriakos Mitrsotakis, to take full control of Parliament to govern alone.
This was clearly seen, and it is very likely, that the crism of this "Greek tragicomedy" alla kofte me xaxiqi. At least until the autumn, when the new government of Athens is installed and the discussions in the majority are closed, and the accountability to Syriza and the Greek opposition begins.
That Misotakis was looking for a fight in Himara was clearly seen when he came a month ago and held a rally violating the protocol of the Albanian state, and instead of Mayor Goro, he had Fredi Beleri by his side. But it was not found out why Sali Berisha and Ilir Meta got into this trouble, where politically it hurts them more than it strengthens them.
In all likelihood, it was a kamikaze act by the old duo, and this is reinforced by the fact that even their media supporters continue to trumpet this "issue" in the panels.
With the support of Fredi Beler, Sali Berisha (Meta does not have supporters in the territory) has finally lost an important and old base of support in Himare, Borsh, Pilur, but also the villages of Labëria. As well as, of course, in the south of the country. That base, which has a strong historical connection with the traditional right, persecuted and crippled by communism, belongs to a strong patriotic sentiment, which will not forgive Berisha's relationship with Himara.
But Berisha has not done this for the first time, this is just a repetition, but then he won and it went well. In the 2000s, Sali Berisha was crushed internationally, and precisely to get out of that rut, he managed to produce the 2003 fight in Himara under the carpet, which to a greater extent stirred the blood but also the relations between Tirana and Athens. At that time, Beleri was one of the "soldiers" who came in buses calling "Al Qaeda", accusing the government of Fatos Nano.
It was the time when the Greek secret services, traditionally close to the right, prepared the new cards that Greece would have to use with Tirana, which came out immediately after Sali Berisha came to power. And that we all know: the graveyard of Greek soldiers as well as the issue of the sea, adding here the citizenship for Janullatos. The latter was rejected by all the Presidents of the time: Rexhep Meidani, Alfred Moisiu, Bamir Topi, but in the end Ilir Meta did it.
As we know, the issue of the Greek soldiers' cemeteries turned into an even more slanderous tragicomedy, where it ended with taking bones from Albanian graves to sell them as fallen skeletons. In a word, a great shame that Sali Berisha ate with bread, together with the signing of the sea pact, only for one purpose. As Athens has had an important role in breaking the isolation he has had in the international arena. And this, Ilir Meta copy paste tried to do since 2016 when he broke with Rama, he built the government of Alexsis Tsipras and his ultra-nationalist right allies.
But today, the situation is quite different, as the current government of Athens is one of the closest allies of the United States of America. It was clearly shown in Mitsotakis' visit to Washington, where he also gave a speech in the American Congress. This protocol, which is reserved for politicians who are considered to be closer to the US.
Meanwhile, both politically and economically, Mitsotakis will no longer need Himara to survive, since in June he will receive an overwhelming majority of the Parliament where he can comfortably rule the entire second term.
Berisha hoped that by activating the mine with political clocks named Beleri, it could be resurrected again after the downfall that the USA has done to it on May 19, 2021. But apart from the fact that the goat once fell into the yogurt, Athens and Tirana are no longer what they were in 2003.