Singing
Old Man: Lets work together to build the new Albania!
WILLIAMS: Communism in Europe may be dead and buried, but the news hasnt reached these men.
Man: Long live the glory and name of Enver Hoxha! He will never be forgotten!
WILLIAMS: Theyre here to mark the birthday of their hero, Albanias former Communist dictator, Enver Hoxha.
Man: The memory of the immortal Hoxha will never be forgotten!
WILLIAMS: They may have loved him, but the paranoid Hoxha kept his country isolated for decades, and Albania is still paying the price for his ruthless rule.
Men chanting: We pledge to serve Enver and the Party We pledge to serve Enver & the party!
Music
WILLIAMS: As decades of communist rule wore on, Albania gradually wore out.
Music
WILLIAMS: Since the dying days of communism Albania developed a reputation for chaos, people and weapons smuggling, and as a hub of international organised crime, run by a Mafia operating in the shadows.
But Albania has a new hero -- an artist turned mayor whos revitalising national pride with a bit of careful planning -- and the paint brush!
Music
WILLIAMS: Since the collapse of communism in Albania, the same old politicians have played musical chairs with power.
But today the band is striking up for a man who represents a new breed.
His name is Edi Rama hes the mayor of Albanias capital Tirana and hes on a mission. Rama: Until now
our politics and our institutions have not promoted meritocratic ways of including people. It has been a very exclusive way of running the country and this has brought desperation and a lot of disillusionment about our own country.
WILLIAMS: By any measure Edi is no ordinary mayor.
A rap-singing former basketballer who once lived the life of a painter in Paris
Rama [rapping]: This is Tirana, the Tirana of contradictions. Of war, of peace, of dankness and light. Of deceit, truth, profit and self interest. Of fun, of stress, of change and business. Meet a mayor shouting down a megaphone. Where everything can happen, we live in Tirana
WILLIAMS: Edi speaks to a new generation with a message of hope and self-help.
Rama [rapping]: Tirana in our hearts, Full of life and Mercedes, crazy or whatever you are, you are ours our city. Noise, noise Much noise, much noise.
WILLIAMS: And mayor Rama has delivered.
This was Tirana in 1997, torn apart by street riots, overwhelmed by problems.
And this is Tirana today, renovated by a riot of colour. With a painter turned politician as Mayor, the citys drab architecture has had a make-over. For the residents of Albanias capital, it was more than just a visual revolution.
Rama: This was the first political action to communicate with people, to set up a bridge with the people and the local authority.
So when the colours started to appear people were shocked; it was like shaking them and telling them to wake up.
WILLIAMS: Edi even chose the colour schemes himself -- and polls found people liked what he was doing.
Rama: So work went on and it was a big discussion in the country about the colours. It was funny because for the first time Albanians were discussing about something that was not politics,
and it was colours it was like a café in Montmartre you know the poorest country in Europe discussing about you know what the colours are doing to us. Its good, its bad.
WILLIAMS: Change, though, has not been easy.
When Edi first became Mayor in 2000, he walked in to an office still trapped in the communist era.
Rama: When I entered here I felt like entering a Kafka book. This building was completely different.
I saw the biggest quantity of ash trays I ever imagined. The corridor down stairs was foggy from the smoke. In the mayors office the ceiling was bleeding water.
Music
WILLIAMS: Modernising the mayors office was just the start. Edi soon turned his attention to the streets of Tirana. He tore down squatters buildings along the river, and bulldozed bars and clubs built illegally over Tiranas main park.
This is the park today.
Rama: This is where 140 something illegal buildings were built. From one to four, five floors. It was kind of squatter.
WILLIAMS: All illegal then?
Rama: Squatter. And it was full of problems because a lot of criminality was concentrated here. What we did was to erase all these buildings.
WILLIAMS: So there must have been a lot of people very angry.
Youre destroying their property.
Rama: Yeah, they were not happy, but I repeated the pressure and the desire of public opinion to see it happen was so high, and was so evident.
WILLIAMS: Were you threatened at all?
Rama: Its part of our work here, so its not something that one should keep in consideration.
Its easy, you know, just erase the message.
Music
WILLIAMS: Edis renovation rescue did the trick. Tirana is now in the midst of a building boom. His vision for a new city is drawing offers and architects from far a field. Edi is in a hurry to make an impact but some question the source of so much new money.
Kreshnik Spahiu runs Albanias corruption watchdog.Spahiu: Some of the business in Albania are laundering money here and they have built so different companies in construction company or building working in hotel or different business. And some of them are attempting to pay bribe in the politics or sometimes to be involved in politics.
WILLIAMS: Much of the money being laundered through construction is thought to come from Albanian organised crime based overseas. So has Edi ever been tempted?
WILLIAMS: Your critics say you are corrupt, that you take money for licences. Have you taken money
for building licences?
Rama: I think that when I have to answer this question and its not the first time, but it seems to me somehow embarrassing to say no, because it looks like I have to answer a kind of accusation. And I think when you are accused, its the burden of accusatory to prove it, its not my burden to say no, no I dont do this kind of thing, because it doesnt help. I just say Im not interested in it, its very simple.
Music
WILLIAMS: The road to rebuilding is still long. Much more of a Tirana could do with a paint job. And after years of abuse and rorts, politicians are not held in high regard here.
Music
WILLIAMS: But in the capitals new cafés, made possible by Edis clean up, the citizens have a favourite.
Man in café: Edi Rama is a cocktail between a pop star and some kind of strange artist, strange painter, but also has the good managing ability and good management skills.
Woman in café: I like Edi, personally I am a fan.
Hes done a lot for Tirana, hes made quite a change and hell do things for everybody.
WILLIAMS: Tiranas new liveable image has a national dividend -- smart young Albanians who once fled the country in droves are coming back.Spahiu: What I can say is Edi Rama
represents a new mentality of the politician, and a new mentality of Albanian society.
Since the communist regime was thrown out from Albania, for the last 15 years there is a long battle between the new generation mentality and the old one. Edi Rama is a symbol of the new generation.
Music
WILLIAMS: Today, Edi is leading the charge in that generational battle. Hes making a run for the chairmanship of Albanias national opposition the Socialist Party, a job that could one day lead him to becoming Albanias Prime Minister.
But it wont be easy. After a long nights negotiations the old guard have urged delegates to vote against him.
WILLIAMS: Wheres the opposition coming from?
Rama: The opposition is coming from the former chairman of the party and some other people, which is normal. Its a normal reaction of them who are unable to understand that the time ran it should run with the time, otherwise you are off.
WILLIAMS: Good luck.
WILLIAMS: His critics claim that Edis leadership style is too aloof, that he ignores consensus.
Rama: No, I listen a lot to people, but of course its up to me to take the decision and I am not a politician of consensus. I dont like consensus. I am a politician of choice, and I like to make my own choices. And when they are good, they are good, when theyre bad theyre bad. This is why I am here.
Music
WILLIAMS: Edis path to politics has not been easy. A few years ago this was the result of a beating he received from government thugs when he criticised its leader.
His zeal for change started at home.
His father, Kristaq, was a committed communist, Albanias most popular state sculptor.
Rama: My father had a very strong influence on me as a personality.
He was a communist, I wasnt, and he was an official artist, I didnt want to become one. But the special thing about him was that he was very open and at the same time very democratic about it, so he was not imposing anything.
Music
WILLIAMS: A couple of Edis paintings hang here in the National Gallery, next to the pieces by his late father. But how does the painter now feel about being the politician?
Rama: Of course its different, because in art you are an independent spirit, in politics you are a dependent spirit. And from this something is compromised,
because you dont work with colours, you work with people. Because the brushes are the brain, the brains of many people and they dont necessarily follow your hand and if you ask them to follow your hand, you are a dictator.
WILLIAMS: Edis workload means theres no time for painting these days his only artistic expressions are what he calls these doodles hanging on the wall at home.
Rama: This is the tortures of the mind during meetings, during periods of the day when I think,
when I have to concentrate and I can concentrate more when I draw things and listen.
WILLIAMS: Edi will soon find himself doodling through many more political meetings.Back at the Socialist Party conference, he has just won the chairmanship by a large majority.
Rama: The power of change is the weapon of triumph in our hands. We must use it today. Because tomorrow it will be too late.
WILLIAMS: The next day he joins his council team for a toast. His message of reform has struck a chord, especially with young Albanians desperate for change.
Edis lack of consensus doesnt easily win allies. It might be a liability or it could be just whats needed to change the culture of dirty deals thats driven much of Albanian politics.
WILLIAMS: With the party, its tainted by corruption in the past, how are you going to reform the party and get rid of that corruption?
Rama: This is a big question I will try we will see.
WILLIAMS: Is it possible?
Rama: Sure.
Music
WILLIAMS: Edi the artist-mayor has put colour back in to the capitals public life.
Music
WILLIAMS: Many hope he can be just as effective returning pride to whats been a troubled nation.
Old Man: Lets work together to build the new Albania!
WILLIAMS: Communism in Europe may be dead and buried, but the news hasnt reached these men.
Man: Long live the glory and name of Enver Hoxha! He will never be forgotten!
WILLIAMS: Theyre here to mark the birthday of their hero, Albanias former Communist dictator, Enver Hoxha.
Man: The memory of the immortal Hoxha will never be forgotten!
WILLIAMS: They may have loved him, but the paranoid Hoxha kept his country isolated for decades, and Albania is still paying the price for his ruthless rule.
Men chanting: We pledge to serve Enver and the Party We pledge to serve Enver & the party!
Music
WILLIAMS: As decades of communist rule wore on, Albania gradually wore out.
Music
WILLIAMS: Since the dying days of communism Albania developed a reputation for chaos, people and weapons smuggling, and as a hub of international organised crime, run by a Mafia operating in the shadows.
But Albania has a new hero -- an artist turned mayor whos revitalising national pride with a bit of careful planning -- and the paint brush!
Music
WILLIAMS: Since the collapse of communism in Albania, the same old politicians have played musical chairs with power.
But today the band is striking up for a man who represents a new breed.
His name is Edi Rama hes the mayor of Albanias capital Tirana and hes on a mission. Rama: Until now
our politics and our institutions have not promoted meritocratic ways of including people. It has been a very exclusive way of running the country and this has brought desperation and a lot of disillusionment about our own country.
WILLIAMS: By any measure Edi is no ordinary mayor.
A rap-singing former basketballer who once lived the life of a painter in Paris
Rama [rapping]: This is Tirana, the Tirana of contradictions. Of war, of peace, of dankness and light. Of deceit, truth, profit and self interest. Of fun, of stress, of change and business. Meet a mayor shouting down a megaphone. Where everything can happen, we live in Tirana
WILLIAMS: Edi speaks to a new generation with a message of hope and self-help.
Rama [rapping]: Tirana in our hearts, Full of life and Mercedes, crazy or whatever you are, you are ours our city. Noise, noise Much noise, much noise.
WILLIAMS: And mayor Rama has delivered.
This was Tirana in 1997, torn apart by street riots, overwhelmed by problems.
And this is Tirana today, renovated by a riot of colour. With a painter turned politician as Mayor, the citys drab architecture has had a make-over. For the residents of Albanias capital, it was more than just a visual revolution.
Rama: This was the first political action to communicate with people, to set up a bridge with the people and the local authority.
So when the colours started to appear people were shocked; it was like shaking them and telling them to wake up.
WILLIAMS: Edi even chose the colour schemes himself -- and polls found people liked what he was doing.
Rama: So work went on and it was a big discussion in the country about the colours. It was funny because for the first time Albanians were discussing about something that was not politics,
and it was colours it was like a café in Montmartre you know the poorest country in Europe discussing about you know what the colours are doing to us. Its good, its bad.
WILLIAMS: Change, though, has not been easy.
When Edi first became Mayor in 2000, he walked in to an office still trapped in the communist era.
Rama: When I entered here I felt like entering a Kafka book. This building was completely different.
I saw the biggest quantity of ash trays I ever imagined. The corridor down stairs was foggy from the smoke. In the mayors office the ceiling was bleeding water.
Music
WILLIAMS: Modernising the mayors office was just the start. Edi soon turned his attention to the streets of Tirana. He tore down squatters buildings along the river, and bulldozed bars and clubs built illegally over Tiranas main park.
This is the park today.
Rama: This is where 140 something illegal buildings were built. From one to four, five floors. It was kind of squatter.
WILLIAMS: All illegal then?
Rama: Squatter. And it was full of problems because a lot of criminality was concentrated here. What we did was to erase all these buildings.
WILLIAMS: So there must have been a lot of people very angry.
Youre destroying their property.
Rama: Yeah, they were not happy, but I repeated the pressure and the desire of public opinion to see it happen was so high, and was so evident.
WILLIAMS: Were you threatened at all?
Rama: Its part of our work here, so its not something that one should keep in consideration.
Its easy, you know, just erase the message.
Music
WILLIAMS: Edis renovation rescue did the trick. Tirana is now in the midst of a building boom. His vision for a new city is drawing offers and architects from far a field. Edi is in a hurry to make an impact but some question the source of so much new money.
Kreshnik Spahiu runs Albanias corruption watchdog.Spahiu: Some of the business in Albania are laundering money here and they have built so different companies in construction company or building working in hotel or different business. And some of them are attempting to pay bribe in the politics or sometimes to be involved in politics.
WILLIAMS: Much of the money being laundered through construction is thought to come from Albanian organised crime based overseas. So has Edi ever been tempted?
WILLIAMS: Your critics say you are corrupt, that you take money for licences. Have you taken money
for building licences?
Rama: I think that when I have to answer this question and its not the first time, but it seems to me somehow embarrassing to say no, because it looks like I have to answer a kind of accusation. And I think when you are accused, its the burden of accusatory to prove it, its not my burden to say no, no I dont do this kind of thing, because it doesnt help. I just say Im not interested in it, its very simple.
Music
WILLIAMS: The road to rebuilding is still long. Much more of a Tirana could do with a paint job. And after years of abuse and rorts, politicians are not held in high regard here.
Music
WILLIAMS: But in the capitals new cafés, made possible by Edis clean up, the citizens have a favourite.
Man in café: Edi Rama is a cocktail between a pop star and some kind of strange artist, strange painter, but also has the good managing ability and good management skills.
Woman in café: I like Edi, personally I am a fan.
Hes done a lot for Tirana, hes made quite a change and hell do things for everybody.
WILLIAMS: Tiranas new liveable image has a national dividend -- smart young Albanians who once fled the country in droves are coming back.Spahiu: What I can say is Edi Rama
represents a new mentality of the politician, and a new mentality of Albanian society.
Since the communist regime was thrown out from Albania, for the last 15 years there is a long battle between the new generation mentality and the old one. Edi Rama is a symbol of the new generation.
Music
WILLIAMS: Today, Edi is leading the charge in that generational battle. Hes making a run for the chairmanship of Albanias national opposition the Socialist Party, a job that could one day lead him to becoming Albanias Prime Minister.
But it wont be easy. After a long nights negotiations the old guard have urged delegates to vote against him.
WILLIAMS: Wheres the opposition coming from?
Rama: The opposition is coming from the former chairman of the party and some other people, which is normal. Its a normal reaction of them who are unable to understand that the time ran it should run with the time, otherwise you are off.
WILLIAMS: Good luck.
WILLIAMS: His critics claim that Edis leadership style is too aloof, that he ignores consensus.
Rama: No, I listen a lot to people, but of course its up to me to take the decision and I am not a politician of consensus. I dont like consensus. I am a politician of choice, and I like to make my own choices. And when they are good, they are good, when theyre bad theyre bad. This is why I am here.
Music
WILLIAMS: Edis path to politics has not been easy. A few years ago this was the result of a beating he received from government thugs when he criticised its leader.
His zeal for change started at home.
His father, Kristaq, was a committed communist, Albanias most popular state sculptor.
Rama: My father had a very strong influence on me as a personality.
He was a communist, I wasnt, and he was an official artist, I didnt want to become one. But the special thing about him was that he was very open and at the same time very democratic about it, so he was not imposing anything.
Music
WILLIAMS: A couple of Edis paintings hang here in the National Gallery, next to the pieces by his late father. But how does the painter now feel about being the politician?
Rama: Of course its different, because in art you are an independent spirit, in politics you are a dependent spirit. And from this something is compromised,
because you dont work with colours, you work with people. Because the brushes are the brain, the brains of many people and they dont necessarily follow your hand and if you ask them to follow your hand, you are a dictator.
WILLIAMS: Edis workload means theres no time for painting these days his only artistic expressions are what he calls these doodles hanging on the wall at home.
Rama: This is the tortures of the mind during meetings, during periods of the day when I think,
when I have to concentrate and I can concentrate more when I draw things and listen.
WILLIAMS: Edi will soon find himself doodling through many more political meetings.Back at the Socialist Party conference, he has just won the chairmanship by a large majority.
Rama: The power of change is the weapon of triumph in our hands. We must use it today. Because tomorrow it will be too late.
WILLIAMS: The next day he joins his council team for a toast. His message of reform has struck a chord, especially with young Albanians desperate for change.
Edis lack of consensus doesnt easily win allies. It might be a liability or it could be just whats needed to change the culture of dirty deals thats driven much of Albanian politics.
WILLIAMS: With the party, its tainted by corruption in the past, how are you going to reform the party and get rid of that corruption?
Rama: This is a big question I will try we will see.
WILLIAMS: Is it possible?
Rama: Sure.
Music
WILLIAMS: Edi the artist-mayor has put colour back in to the capitals public life.
Music
WILLIAMS: Many hope he can be just as effective returning pride to whats been a troubled nation.