Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has taken an unconventional approach to criticism: he reposted an AI-generated video of himself wearing a leather miniskirt and bra on Instagram, with the caption, “Whoever made this, well done.” The move is a direct swipe at online influencers who have been vocal in opposing a controversial luxury development on Albania’s southern coast.
The video references remarks Rama made during a public event on 7 June, where he mocked bloggers and influencers supporting protests against the project—a resort linked to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and Ivanka Trump. In that speech, Rama argued that many influencers profit from self-promotion on social media while paying no taxes to the state. He suggested that “bloggers should challenge each other, one dressed as a flamingo and another dressed as me and see who wins.”
Protests Over a Luxury Resort
The protests center on a planned development in the Narta Lagoon area, a wildlife reserve, and on the uninhabited island of Sazan, a former communist-era military base. The project includes hotels, apartments, villas, and a marina. An investment firm linked to Kushner has been granted special investor status by Albanian authorities. The government argues the development will transform the former communist nation as it seeks to enter the high-end tourism market and push for European Union membership.
But environmental campaigners and critics of Rama’s long-time Socialist government have opposed the venture. Protesters have carried cardboard cut-outs of pink flamingos—a protected migratory bird species—at rallies in the capital, Tirana. Since late May, excavators and heavy machinery have entered the area, opening access routes, digging into sand, clearing land among pine trees, and installing fencing. Environmental groups from Albania and elsewhere in Europe have condemned the work, with one prominent local group charging that long-protected habitats are being “irreversibly destroyed.”
Public anger grew after a video showed an activist being dragged by a private security guard while demonstrating at the site. Rama has claimed that influencers joined the protests mainly for attention and lacked a real understanding of the situation. He has also framed the opposition as part of a hybrid war against Albania, as reported in Albanian PM Claims Hybrid War Behind Protests Over Kushner-Linked Resort.
Albania has 450 kilometres of coastline that remained largely underdeveloped during decades of communist rule. Protest groups fear that sections of this pristine coast could be snapped up by powerful investors. The development is planned within a nature reserve and one of Albania’s most valuable biodiversity areas, a key stopover for migratory birds along the Adriatic coast. For more context on the project, see Albania's 'Kushner Island': Why a Luxury Resort Plan Is Sparking Protests.
Rama’s AI video stunt is the latest in a series of provocative moves by the prime minister, who has been in power since 2013. It underscores the deepening divide between his government and a growing coalition of environmental activists, bloggers, and ordinary citizens who see the resort as a threat to Albania’s natural heritage. As protests continue, the question remains whether Rama’s social media gambit will distract from the substantive issues at stake—or further inflame tensions.
