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Anthony Albanese, son of Arbëresh; The unusual story of Australia's new Prime Minister

2022-05-22 10:34:00Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

Anthony Albanese, son of Arbëresh; The unusual story of Australia's

Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese looks set to be Australia's new prime minister, as the projections of the three major television networks have declared him the winner of the election.

The vote count continues and the biggest curiosity at the moment is whether the Labor Party will have more than 76 seats in parliament or will need any agreement to secure governance. What is believed is that the Liberal National Coalition led by Scott Morrison is the loser of this election.

Anthony Albanese is the son of an Arbëresh sailor, Carlo Albanese from the south of Italy, but with an Australian mother (of Irish origin).

The parents met during a trip to Europe by Maryanne Ellery. He was working on the ferry the Australian girl was traveling on. It was love at first sight. They soon got married and had lived together for eight months. Then he had died in an accident and his mother had returned to live in Australia.

At least that was the story Anthony knew as a child. This was the story that even the extended family, the neighborhood, and anyone who knew them knew.

When he turned 14, his mother sat him down at the table and told him another story. His father had not died in the accident, they had had a love story but then separated. The beautiful romantic story of two young people across Europe, was over when she discovered she was pregnant. There the Arbëresh boy had told him that they could not get married together because he had a fiancé in his village and could not break the engagement. Maryanne was shocked by the response.  

Soon the bond broke and she returned, four months pregnant, to her parents's house with a major problem. It was a Catholic family in the 1960s and that was a scandal. The solution was to weave a false story. There he decided to buy a ring, registered with the local municipality with his boyfriend's last name and invented the story of the accident.

Anthony called his father dead even after he found out he might be alive. He had not been a part of his life, nor had he wanted to be a part of it. Only after the death of his mother, in 2002, did he become interested in the company that owned the ferries almost half a century ago and a historian to dig into the archives.

After several years of searching, including the records of Italian pensioners employed on ferries and time ships, they were able to find the name, address, and even a telephone number of Carlo Albanese. He lived in Barletta, Italy, and all the records and dates guaranteed that he was the father of the young politician (the 36-year-old Albanian was then elected Deputy Prime Minister of one of the Australian states).  

The news was emotional for him. He did not know how to act. Did it make sense to travel to Italy to meet him? A right-wing senator, Amanda Vanstone had become Australia's ambassador to Italy and knew his story. She immediately agreed to help.

Coincidentally, one of the diplomats at the Australian Embassy in Rome, Lisa Golden, was Carlo Albanese's mother's cousin. Lisa spoke Italian very well and helped in the connection between them. Anthony Albanese planned the trip to Italy, while the diplomat undertook to have the first conversation with the elderly man who also did not know he had a son. The phone call had not gone well. Carlo could not hear well from the ears.

The Australian diplomat then wrote a letter to her cousin to better explain the situation. Then he called again, and talked to the Arbëresh woman. Just a day before Anthony Albanese's arrival in Italy, a family member called from Barletta to explain. She was a lawyer and the next day hosted them both in her legal studio. He asked why they wanted to meet Carlo Albanese. Anthony told him he believed he was his father. "I do not want anything from him. Neither money nor anything else. "I just want to meet him."

In the end, the lawyer told her that she would talk to Carlos's son and try to convince him. When they took to the streets, the Italian politician was in tears.

The next morning, Carlo received them in the studio with the girl and the boy. Elegant and well-dressed, but barely audible from the ears. They hugged. Everyone was in tears.

They sat down to talk. Carlo still spoke a little English. He asked her about her mother and her life. "He was a noble man," says Anthony. "I wondered why my mother was in love with him. There was charm. He was smart. Generous, interesting and hardworking. "The family was above everything."

After working as a sailor he had worked as a school cleaner and in a restaurant.

Before leaving, Anthony promised that next year he would come with his family and children, so that they would know the grandfather they had never known./ By Ruben Avxhiu

 


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