A prime minister can win four terms and still lose a generation. The October 13 protest raises a question the government cannot avoid: what future has it offered to the youth after thirteen years in power?
In front of the Ministry of Education in Tirana, it was not only the anger of the youth that was on display. It was also a question that Albanian politics has been postponing for years: what value do electoral victories have when those who should build the future of the country no longer see a secure future in it?
The images of the protest were stark. Students facing police, stones, broken glass and tear gas. Violence against police is unacceptable and those responsible must be held accountable. But focusing only on the incidents would leave unanswered the main question: what brought young people to the streets?
The stones are a matter of public order. The reasons for the revolt are a matter of governance.
After more than thirteen years in power, Edi Rama cannot be both the author of successes and a spectator of failures. He cannot take credit for investments, roads, and tourism records, while the responsibility for weak universities, limited opportunities, and the departure of young people always rests with others.
Thirteen years is no longer a probationary period. It is a balance sheet.
According to INSTAT, public spending on education accounted for 2.9% of GDP in 2022. Meanwhile, according to Eurostat data, public spending on education in the EU was around 4.7% of GDP in the same year. The indicators do not alone explain the quality of education, but the difference raises serious questions about Albania's budgetary priorities.
In political economy, the budget is the most honest reflection of a government's priorities. Not speeches. Not advertisements. Not inaugurations.
The Albania that the government promotes is measured by tourists, towers, and kilometers of asphalt. The Albania that many students experience is measured by the rent of a room, the quality of their diploma, the opportunity for a job, and the price of a one-way ticket to Europe.
Both exist. But the second will determine what kind of country we will have in twenty years.
A university that fails to equip young people with competitive skills is not just a failing institution. It is an economy that loses productivity, a family that loses savings, and a society where work and merit no longer seem like reliable paths forward.
This is the bill that doesn't appear in government photos.
The October 13 protest should also be read as an expression of dissatisfaction with the way the country is run. It affects trust in politics and the opportunity to build a dignified life in Albania.
This is a message for the opposition as well. But the weakness of the opposition cannot serve as a certificate of success for the government. The main responsibility for public policies belongs to the one who leads the executive.
Rama can list rebuilt schools, reforms, and investments. These must be evaluated by results. But the question remains: after thirteen years, is Albania a place where a young person can rely on their skills and work to build a dignified life?
How much has the quality of universities improved? How many students are financially supported? How many graduates find jobs in their profession? And why is leaving still seen by many young people as a more credible option?
These are not hostile questions. They are demands for accountability.
A democratic state must protect institutions and police. But public order is not a substitute for public policy. Responsibility for violence is individual and the use of force must be proportional.
You can disperse a protest in an afternoon, but you can't solve a generation's crisis of confidence with tear gas.
After thirteen years, Rama has no shortage of time to test his ideas. He has had time to implement them. Today, it is no longer enough to explain what he intends to do. He must account for what he has done.
History does not judge governments only by the elections they win, but also by the institutions they leave behind and the opportunities they create.
A country doesn't just become poor when its money runs out. It also becomes poor when its young people start to see their future anywhere but in their homeland.
The danger for Albania is not protesting students. The danger is a country where young people no longer see a reason to build their lives.
A nation does not lose its future the day its young people take to the streets.
They lose it when institutions no longer give them a reason to stay.
And after thirteen years of governance, the political responsibility to respond to this crisis falls, first and foremost, on Edi Rama.
