When Prime Minister Edi Rama characterised the Flamingo Revolution as a "hybrid war" orchestrated by Albania's enemies and Israel [4, 5, 7, 10], he reached for the autocrat's oldest playbook: blame foreigners when citizens object. The charge is extraordinary. The evidence is absent.
What began in May 2026 as local opposition to a luxury tourism project near Sazan island [5, 6, 9, 10, 15, 19, 22, 23] has become an anti-government mobilisation demanding Rama's resignation alongside that of opposition leader Sali Berisha [4, 7, 11, 15, 18, 23]. Thousands marched in Tirana expressing broader discontent with political corruption and government opacity [5, 7, 10, 22]. The diaspora rallied in Stockholm, Toronto, London, and New York [14, 18, 19, 24]. If this is a conspiracy, it is a remarkably well-subscribed one.