Overview

• Sali Berisha, Albania's main opposition leader, has hired former Trump campaign advisers Chris LaCivita and Paul Manafort for his May 11 parliamentary election campaign.
• LaCivita, co-campaign manager for Trump’s 2024 campaign, and Manafort, a key figure in Trump’s 2016 bid, bring MAGA-style strategies to Berisha’s efforts to unseat Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party.
• Berisha has also engaged a lobbying firm to assist in reversing his 2021 U.S. persona non grata designation due to corruption allegations.
• The campaign highlights the growing influence of American political consulting in foreign elections, raising questions about transnational populist strategies and U.S.–Albania relations.
• Albania’s May 11 election will determine control of the Balkan nation’s government as Berisha seeks a political comeback against incumbent Edi Rama.