Prime Minister Edi Rama seems to have opened another front of conflict with journalists, this time not within the borders of Albania, but outside it, specifically with the Greek media. The reason is a statement he made during the Summit he attended in Abu Dhabi, where Rama said that "the Greeks think they are descendants of Plato and Aristotle, but they are not."
However, the prime minister's attention-seeking and slightly excessive humor seems to have sparked reactions in some Greek media outlets, as well as from political representatives in Athens, forcing Rama today to explain what he meant.
Rama says he is surprised by the way a sentence said, according to him, with friendly humor, has been taken out of context and how an informal discussion has turned into a public debate with "nationalist pathos", a phenomenon that, according to the prime minister, often occurs in media Athens.
The head of government assures that there is no doubt about the role of Ancient Greece and its figures in the history of European civilization. He emphasizes that Plato and Aristotle are Greek philosophers and that Greek culture deserves only admiration and respect.
However, this is not the first time that the prime minister's excessive protagonism in international meetings has backfired.
We recall that even during the European Political Community Summit, where Rama, in the presence of the president of France and the president of Azerbaijan, also "humorously" used the gaffe of the US president, who had confused Armenia with Albania. After the video made the rounds of international media, Rama was forced to come out again to explain that it was a joke.
While he left the responsibility for taking it out of context, even then, to the media, which in fact distribute what the prime minister says even in international meetings where seriousness is not mixed with tired jokes.
