Beyond the parallels between the Serbian and Albanian cases and the similarities between Rama and Vučić, political analysts argue that change will not come automatically to Albania.
On Sunday evening, Belgrade’s main square turned into an arena of celebration for thousands of young people and Serbian citizens who had been protesting against President Aleksandar Vučić and his 12-year rule for two years.
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The celebrations were sparked by the clear election victory of the Student List—a movement that began in November 2024 in Novi Sad after a concrete canopy at the railway station collapsed, killing 16 people.
Vučić tried to suppress the protests and accused the demonstrators of attempting to destabilize the country, claiming they were being incited by foreign actors, but on Sunday evening he admitted defeat.
Vučić’s defeat is reverberating in Tirana, where four-month-long anti-government protests have escalated over the past two weeks with the involvement of students and clashes with police. In a clear parallel with Albania, various political representatives described the triumph of Serbia’s student movement as a “new era” in the Balkans.
Political analysts also see the Serbian case as a reference point for Albania, emphasizing the role of civic pressure and the need for the student protest to transform into a new political alternative capable of winning citizens’ trust beyond the traditional parties.
“There has been a new era in the Balkans for several years; Rama is the last one left,” journalist Armand Shkullaku told BIRN.
Although it is impossible to predict how long the civic revolt in Albania will last, Shkullaku is certain that “the process of Rama’s departure is nearing its end and there is no turning back.”
What happened in Serbia demonstrates, according to Andri Nurellari, the potential of youth movements to break apathy, mobilize society and challenge even governments that appear untouchable.
“The most important lesson from developments in the region is that even governments that appear invincible can be changed through the vote,” Nurellari told BIRN.
However, the challenge in Albania remains transforming the revolt into an electoral political alternative, as in Serbia.
“In Albania, the question is not only whether students can mobilize society, but whether they can build a form of representation that goes beyond protest,” journalist Lutfi Dervishi said.
The challenges facing a student movement
The departure of leaders who have dominated politics in the region and Central Europe for years, from Viktor Orbán to Aleksandar Vučić, has fueled discussions about a domino effect that could challenge models of concentrated power and pave the way for new political changes.
The parallel applies most notably to Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, who, like Vučić, is accused of building a system of governance through the concentration of power, political patronage, media capture and the weakening of institutional oversight.
“Vučić’s model of power shares the same typology as Edi Rama’s: absolute control over institutions, the party and the media, as well as the involvement of organized crime in politics and the country’s security institutions,” Shkullaku argues.
According to him, the similarity can also be seen in the way both men responded to the students’ revolt “with violence and repression.”
However, analysts assess that creating a student-led political alternative in Albania requires time, organization, the establishment of credible representation and independence from the traditional parties, while retaining broad public support.
Adri Nurellari warns that change in Albania will not come automatically and that the country faces its own dynamics, despite the similarities with the Serbian case.
In this context, Nurellari insists that it is important to distinguish between a protest and a political movement, which would have to transform discontent into a broader project for change, based, in his view, on vision, organization, leadership and long-term objectives.
“Its potential lies in the possibility of bringing forward a new generation of leaders uncompromised by the old politics and creating an alternative that goes beyond the opposition’s traditional electorate,” Nurellari said.
Nurellari suggests that the challenge is for “the energy of the protest not to be appropriated by the old political elites,” but also not to be “consumed by radicalism and confrontations without prospects.”
Lutfi Dervishi also notes differences between the two countries, one of which is the time factor.
While the Serbian movement needed nearly two years to build the organization and support that led it to elections, the Albanian student protest is, according to Dervishi, still in its early phase.
“Therefore, the domino effect may initially appear in organization, demands and civic participation, not necessarily in the immediate creation of an electoral force,” Dervishi suggests.
According to him, political change in Albania requires time and sustained civic pressure to create equal conditions for the next elections.
Referring to the Serbian case, he argues that without the protesters’ pressure and the public exposure of police violence, Vučić might have retained power through elections.
“Such regimes do not change through elections,” Dervishi says, emphasizing that civic mobilization is necessary to guarantee a free and fair contest.
Therefore, according to him, the Albanian students’ demand for the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama is directly linked to creating the conditions for free elections, and not to taking power outside the electoral process.
“The students are seeking his resignation as a guarantee for preparing free elections; they are not seeking power without elections,” he concludes./BIRN
