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Albanian opposition leader Sali Berisha casts his vote at a polling station during parliamentary elections in Tirana, Albania, on May 11, 2025.
Can the MAGA message work in the Balkans?
For all the talk of a US-Europe split, US President Donald Trump’s supporters are rather invested in elections on the continent. Tesla owner Elon Musk advocated for Alternative for Germany (AfD) ahead of that country’s election in February. Donald Trump Jr. met one of the nationalist presidential candidates ahead of Romania’s election, while favorite George Simion now actively courts his father.
Now it’s Albania’s turn. Trump’s former co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita has been boosting former Prime Minister Sali Berisha’s bid to return to power on the Adriatic Sea. LaCivita got a hand from the Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank behind Project 2025. The group “has been instrumental in helping Albania’s Democratic Party reshape its electoral program and platform,” according to Sokol Lleshi, a politics professor at the University of New York, Tirana, pitching traditional family values with a familiar slogan to match: “Make Albania Great Again.”
But will MAGA find a following in Albania? We’ll know by Tuesday, when the results of Sunday’s national election are expected.
Who’s in the race? Berisha, who leads the center-right Democratic Party (PD), ran against three-term incumbent Prime Minister Edi Rama, head of the center-left Socialist Party (PS). While the opposition leader recycled the MAGA message, Rama’s campaign centered on achieving accession to the European Union by 2030. Several other smaller parties hope to win some of the 140 parliamentary seats to gain influence.
Who’s going to win? With roughly 30% of the ballots counted, Rama is running away with it – the PS has garnered 53% of the vote thus far, while PD flounders on 34% – raising questions over the salience of the MAGA message in this Eastern European enclave. Hard-right parties have enjoyed success in Italy, Germany, Hungary and Romania, but plugging and playing this strategy into Albania isn’t as straightforward, in part because the country wants to join the EU.
“The Democratic Party has relied a lot on some of the ideological messages of the MAGA movement and Donald Trump,” said Lleshi. “So they are not talking too much or sufficiently enough, in my understanding, about EU integration.”
The Battering Ram-a. The current global conditions may make Tirana’s EU accession possible: With the White House distancing itself from Europe, the 27-member bloc is looking to strengthen its position, and its ranks. This underscores why the eccentric and artistic Rama is favorite to win a 4th term.
Just one problem. Corruption has tarnished Albanian politics ever since the country regained independence in 1991. This has stymied Tirana’s efforts to join the EU, since rooting out graft is a precondition for membership. Many of Rama’s allies have been found guilty of corruption, and several political leaders from other parties, including Berisha, face corruption allegations.
SPAK, Albania’s anti-graft body formed in 2019, is trying to root out this problem – it is one of the most trusted institutions in Albania.The opposition leader’s disdain for SPAK thus puts him out of sync with much of the electorate.
Middling MAGA. If Rama wins, this will mark the third recent foreign election where MAGA opponents have won. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney rode a wave of anti-American sentiment to win last month’s election, while Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese roared to victory over his MAGA-lite opponent last weekend. Though Rama’s message hasn’t been explicitly anti-American – the country has pro-American roots, dating back to President Woodrow Wilson’s support for Albanian independence after World War I – his expected victory suggests there are limits to transplanting the MAGA message abroad.
Outside of politics, what’s interesting about Albania? First of all, it has a rather distinctive flag, featuring a double-headed eagle on a sharp, red background (an inspiration for the Durmstrang Institute of Harry Potter fame). Its most renowned citizen is pop star Dua Lipa, although she was born and raised in London.
Dua could vote, too. A change in the voting rules means that everyone in the Albanian diaspora — which comprises over a million people — was able to draw a ballot for this election. However, only 245,000 of them requested a mail-in vote, of which 181,000 had been returned as of Sunday morning, per Lleshi. The professor says that gauging how the diaspora voted, however, is a fool’s errand.
MAGA, the American Dream and immigration
Ian Bremmer's Quick Take: A Quick Take in this holiday season on the back of the biggest fight in the United States that we have seen among Trump supporters since his election win.
Started off when Vivek Ramaswamy, the billionaire, the co-director of this new Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE as they're calling it, writing that we have to bring in lots of high-talent immigrants, complaining that American culture isn't getting it right for the people that they need to hire in order to make the United States win and more competitive. We hear it all the time. You need to staple a green card to every STEM PhD that's being awarded to non-Americans in the US so they can stay. You need to keep those students here. You need to bring in far more talented legal immigrants in larger numbers to address the talent gap in the United States, and if Americans want to win, that's what you need to do.
The average American has heard this before, and they've heard it for a long time. To be clear, it is not like the US economy isn't winning right now. You look at the stock market, you look at corporate profits, you look at Elon Musk, the dude is worth nearly half a trillion dollars, and that's with a very strong dollar. Look at how the United States' economy has performed since the pandemic, while Europe, and Japan, and South Korea, and Canada, and others just are not, and they're not innovating, and they don't have the big companies. I've heard this about other issues. I've heard about tariffs. I've heard about even free trade. You hear it about investments and capital flows around the world and need to make things work more effectively for the big money in the United States. And working-class and middle-class Americans know that when elites in the US say that the US is going to win, that it doesn't mean 'em. The United States, for so many Americans, is a country of second-class healthcare, and second-class education, and second-class opportunities. And if the American dream doesn't work for the average American citizen, then you're telling them we should be bringing in really much more talented Indians? Good luck with that argument for them.
And those of you that know me, know that that's not my personal perspective. I grew up in the projects with a mother though that did absolutely everything for her kids. And I had opportunities. We had opportunities. I feel very lucky to have been born in America, not better than anyone else, not having any more intrinsic worth, just super, super fortunate. So the American Dream absolutely worked for me. Capitalism in the US and the ability to be an entrepreneur absolutely worked for me. But most of the kids that grew up in my neighborhood don't feel that way today, along with far too many working and middle-class Americans.
And if the United States felt like the land of opportunity instead of a two-tier system where you buy your way into privilege, and you buy your way into opportunity, and then you make sure you do that for your kids, and the best indicator of how well an American is going to do is how fortunate your parents are compared to other advanced industrial democracies, rich democracies around the world, well, that is not a country that's going to say, "Yeah, we need to do more to help the wealthiest win." Because the wealthiest have already figured out how to win for themselves, and there are lobbying dollars, and their access to the best that the world has to offer for them in the United States. If the average American felt that way and felt that applied to them, then Trump wouldn't be president today. You wouldn't have "America First" resonating for so many people that want to undermine globalism because globalism wasn't about the globe and it wasn't about all Americans. It was about just getting it done for that small, small group of people with access to capital.
This is the failure of globalism, and this is why the United States doesn't want to take the lead on global security, or global trade, or even global democracy anymore. You have to be a leader at home before you can effectively lead anybody, nevermind everybody else. This is what we're facing come January 20th. I think it's a useful fight to see play out publicly because there's a very big difference between those that have access to decision-making, power and authority in the United States and those that turned out and actually voted, the masses that voted against the establishment. And to the extent that they continue to be hard done by and every expectation for the last 40 years in the US is that that will be the case, whether it's a Democrat or Republican running the country, this situation is only going to get more toxic.
That's it for me. I wish everyone Happy holidays. Hope you had a merry Christmas. Looking forward to the new Year. I'll talk to you all real soon.
Trump 2.0 cabinet picks: "Loyalty is the currency of the moment"
2020 is not 2016, and when it comes to the second Trump term, the sequel is going to be quite different from the first go-round. Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks already mark a sharp departure from the team he put together during his first term, says New York Times national security and White House Correspondent, David Sanger. Sanger joins Ian Bremmer on the episode of GZERO World.
Based on some of Trump's picks so far, new administration, Sanger explains, Trump's cabinet will likely be filled with a mix of hardline politicians, TV personalities, and some high-profile figures, many of whom have already left Democrats and Republicans in shock. Ideology doesn't matter anymore, Sanger explains, because “loyalty is the currency of the moment” in Trump’s world. And Trump’s "revenge nominees" signal his desire to dismantle government bureaucracy. A change that Sanger says "is exactly what the supporters of President Trump were looking for." Against the backdrop of two global wars and a looming trade war, Trump’s incoming administration could reshape the global world order like never before.
Watch the full episode: Trump foreign policy in a MAGA, MAGA world
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔).
Trump foreign policy in a MAGA, MAGA world
As Trump prepares to return to the White House, his foreign policy picks are already showing just how radically his presidency could reshape geopolitics. New York Times Correspondent David Sanger joins Ian Bremmer on GZERO World to discuss just what a Trump 2.0 foreign policy could look like for some of the key geopolitical flashpoints today. From the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East to the increasingly strained US-China relationship, the only thing we can say for sure is that the Trump sequel will look far different from the original.
And that uncertainty, Sanger tells Bremmer, is why Trump won the election. "If you voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 election, it was probably with a thought that these institutions need to be blown up." One of the biggest questions, however, is just how Trump will approach the Ukraine war, and if he'll follow through on his campaign pledge to end the conflict in "24 hours." "Trump would love to come in as the man who ended the Ukraine war" Sanger says, "But the only way I can imagine in my limited way for how you do that in 24 hours is you have a call of Vladimir Putin and you say, Vlad, what do you need?"
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔).
Trump's America: How MAGA came out on top
On this episode of GZERO World, Ian Bremmer unpacks the implications of Donald Trump’s decisive election win, marking his historic return to office and the GOP's comprehensive control over government (assuming they hold onto the House). Despite polls suggesting a razor-close election, Trump won with strong support across critical swing states, including Pennsylvania, where voter shifts were significant even in traditionally Democratic strongholds like Philadelphia. Bremmer discusses Nov 5 and its wide range of implications with Vanderbilt historian Nicole Hemmer and Wall Street Journal correspondent Molly Ball. How did Trump’s return signal a change election? How much of it was driven by voters' discontent with inflation and immigration, and how much was simply the appeal of a populist alternative to the status quo.
The conversation highlights Trump’s longstanding opposition to globalism and his strategy to reshape America’s place on the world stage. With the GOP controlling the presidency, Senate, and likely the House, Trump's second term could bring sweeping policy changes, including a push to consolidate executive power and reduce judicial and institutional independence. Reflecting on the stakes, Molly Ball comments, “If there are not those barriers before him, what is he willing to do? What norms and traditions, not to say laws, is he willing to violate in order to pursue his goals?” Hemmer adds, “The erosion of representative democracy…has accelerated over the past 10 years,” emphasizing the risks of unchecked power. They also examine the Democratic Party’s struggle to resonate with working-class voters across racial lines and its internal debate over progressive versus centrist policies. With both parties facing pressure, there remains an enduring tension between America's democratic ideals and the growing appetite for anti-establishment reform.
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔).
Donald Trump will take office with unprecedented power
Donald Trump’s 2024 election win gives him a powerful mandate from voters frustrated with government gridlock and bloated bureaucracy. That, along with the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on presidential power, means Trump will take office in January with unprecedented impunity to enact his agenda, radically remake the Federal government, and rewrite institutional norms. So what happens next? On GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, Molly Ball, senior political reporter at The Wall Street Journal, and Nicole Hemmer, a political historian specializing in conservative media, discuss the implications of a second Trump presidency and how he plans to fulfill promises to voters frustrated with the status quo. Trump will be reined in by the Constitution, but beyond that, will face little accountability, giving him near-total power to enact sweeping changes to democratic institutions.
“I think a lot of people are frustrated with the feeling that our institutions are so calcified and bottle-necked that they don’t allow anything to get done,” Balls says, “So I think there is a mandate for Trump to actually execute on his agenda.”
“I think the idea that the president has free rein does have more popular support than I think many liberals and proponents of rule of law would hope,” Hemmer adds, “The idea that there are levers that can be pulled that will suddenly snap into place an accountability regime, those levers don't exist.”
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔).
Putin visits US voters
Turnout in this US election fell. The world's leading expert on American democracy saw, first hand, why that was. #PUPPETREGIME
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On Jan. 6, 2021, pro-Trump supporters and far-right forces flooded Washington, DC, to protest Trump's election loss. Hundreds breached the US Capitol.
Americans are on edge as voters head to the polls
As Election Day unfolds across the United States, law enforcement agencies warn that well-organized groups supporting Donald Trump may disrupt Tuesday’s vote and could carry out acts of violence. In particular, one chapter of the Proud Boys, a far-right movement that played a pivotal role in the pro-Trump riot at the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, posted a message on social media that its members “will either stand with the resistance or take a knee and willingly accept the yoke of tyranny and oppression.”
In fact, the New York Times reports that an investigation of more than one million messages posted on Telegram “question the credibility of the presidential election” and threaten to “interfere with the voting process and potentially dispute the outcome.” Some of these messages included images of violence. A so-called “election integrity” movement urges Telegram users to help “audit” the vote and to share news related to election rigging. Governors in Oregon, Washington, and Nevada have National Guard troops on standby in case of election-related violence.
Media coverage of the threat of trouble has Americans on edge. A new study from the American Psychological Association, an industry group, finds that more than 70% of Americans fear that today’s election will trigger violence.