Giovanni Sartori wrote that democracy does not guarantee that the people are always right. Democracy guarantees us something even more important: the right of citizens to make mistakes. But he warned that when mistakes are repeated and fed by propaganda, demagogy and the degradation of public debate, then democracy itself enters into crisis.

Democracy does not survive on votes alone. It survives on informed citizens. The greater the power given to citizens, the greater the responsibility to protect knowledge, education, and critical thinking. Otherwise, propaganda replaces argument and conformity replaces freedom.

Albania is experiencing exactly such a moment.

The one we have appeared in politics as an anti-conformist. He promised a new model of governance. He presented himself as the man who would destroy the old political culture.

Today the paradox is clear. After more than a decade in power, he no longer seeks to change the system. He demands that society adapt to the system he himself has built.

In this reality, every scandal is relativized. Every criticism is labeled. Every protest is presented as a conspiracy. Persuasion through argument is no longer sought, but submission through narrative control. Power does not only fight opponents. It fights the very right of citizens to be nonconformists.

This is why today's battle is not simply political. It is cultural. It is being waged between the citizen who demands accountability and a government that seeks to normalize scandal. The government that controls information also tries to control the way citizens think.

Democracies are not necessarily overthrown by a coup. They can be slowly consumed, when citizens get used to living with the idea that corruption is normal. Institutions can't change anything. The government is never held accountable.

History is the greatest teacher of leadership, even when students refuse to listen. Ever since the Albanian state was founded, the word honor has carried weight. Statesmen measured themselves not by how long they stayed in power, but by what they left behind. Today, honor has been replaced by the instinct of political survival.

This degradation does not remain only a moral problem. It also produces consequences for the security and strategic position of the country. The increase in Albania's geopolitical importance is not necessarily only an advantage. It can become a risk if the country does not have strong institutions and leaders capable of managing this weight with prudence, integrity and accountability.

Here lies the greatest paradox of today's Albania. The greatest danger to the government is not just the political opposition. It is the emergence of a new form of civic participation, which refuses to fall into the old division: "with the government" or "with the opposition."

This civic energy does not simply require a new charismatic leader. It requires a state that functions regardless of who leads it. If it manages to organize itself and maintain its credibility, it could change the Albanian political landscape. If not, it risks remaining a powerful but temporary mobilization.

Therefore, the question we should ask is not: “How long will this power last?” This question keeps the focus on the individual, not the system. The real question is whether this civic energy will succeed in building social and institutional alternatives that survive even after the protest has ended. The quality of democracy depends on the quality of information, education, and public debate.

History shows that protests can change governments. Only institutions change countries.

Albania does not need citizens who agree with scandal. It needs citizens who think freely. Citizens who reject the normalization of the unacceptable and transform this rejection into strong institutions.

Democracy does not survive if people stop thinking differently. It survives only when citizens have the courage to tell the government that normality cannot be built on the unacceptable. This courage must remain alive even after this summer, even after this protest, even after every leader who comes and goes.