Just an ordinary Saturday in Tirana…

I may have mentioned that our hotel in Tirana was part of the Air Albania Arena. What I have hitherto failed to mention, and discovered rather late in the day, was that the Albanian national football team were due to play a home UEFA Nations League fixture whilst we were in town. I did think about buying tickets, but they had officially sold out and I wasn’t wildly keen on spending significant sums of money on the grey market to see a game between two teams I don’t really know.

In fairness, the “mystery” element doesn’t phase me that much, as I proved a few years back in Tbilisi. But that was rather cheaper, and there was never a possibility of a full house to see anyone play Gibraltar. The Czech Republic, on the other hand…

And, as it turned out, the Czechs were staying with us - very convenient for the stadium, obviously.

But we had plans.

Tirana has two major parks, one of which was known as “Big Park” and surrounds an artificial lake to the south of the city centre, close to our hotel. And, now that the sunshine had returned, it offered an excellent place for a gentle stroll.

Both Ros and I enjoy strolling through neighbourhoods and parks in new places - they give you a better sense of how real life operates in a way that just visiting tourist attractions never quite can. And Big Park was as good as one might hope, with little stalls selling toys or snacks and drinks dotted about, and Albanians of all ages out enjoying the warmth of a fine November day.

The lake itself is pleasant enough, especially where trees shade the banks, and the park is generally pretty well maintained which reinforced our sense that civic pride is quite strong.

As we walked back towards our hotel though, you could tell that excitement was beginning to mount around the Air Albania Arena, with crowds beginning to flock to the nearby bars and coffee shops. Albania were still in with a decent shot at promotion to League A, with two wins in their final group games, both in Tirana, pretty much guaranteed to get them to the promised land.

We had other plans though, which involved heading across town. As Ros is a member of the European Affairs Select Committee in the Lords, she had contacted our Embassy in Tirana, and an invitation to tea had been forthcoming from our recently-appointed Ambassador. Usually, my role in such events is as “travelling spouse” - Ros is obviously of far more interest to our diplomats than I am - but given that I’m not unfamiliar with international politics, I do chip in with the odd question.

Impressively, Nicholas Abbott is an Albanian speaker, having studied the language prior to being appointed “Our Man in Pristina” in 2019. And, on finding the Residence, we were welcomed in for tea and some rather nice banana bread (and I don’t even like bananas).

Having met a few of our Diplomatic Corps over the years, I’ve always been impressed by their professionalism and enthusiasm and nothing was changed by this meeting. We were told about his outreach programme and about such of the Embassy’s achievements in building relationships between the two countries and, whilst you do need to remind yourself that he is a diplomat, it’s reassuring to know that clever, engaging people are out there, representing us in foreign capitals across the globe.

We tried not to outstay our welcome, after all, it was a Saturday and even Ambassadors need some downtime, so we thanked His Excellency for his hospitality and headed out towards the maelstrom…

The Air Albania Arena seats approximately 21,000 spectators, and there clearly weren’t going to be that many away supporters. The usual sellers of football merchandise were out in force and the bars increasingly packed as the 8.45 p.m. kickoff approached.

I’d planned for this though, having booked a table in the hotel restaurant. Normally, I wouldn’t do that - in so many places, the hotel restaurant in a rather soulless afterthought but, in cities that don’t have many good hotels, that rule is usually suspended. And here, with good cause.

Somewhat to our surprise though, the restaurant, and especially the tables outside, were full of football fans getting the beers in before the game but behaving entirely reasonably. We ate a very good meal and watched a bunch of people with flags and scarves as they slowly filtered away towards their seats in the stadium.

It turned out that, if you had the right room in the hotel, you had a clear view of events on the pitch. We weren’t that lucky although, as it turned out, the game was fated to end as a rather drab 0-0 draw.

It also demonstrated that the soundproofing was pretty good, as 20,000 people left the stadium without disturbing us…

So, about this hip and trendy Albania I was told about...

Normally, when we go places, I take special care to organise dinner on Friday and Saturday nights because, you know how it is, places are busiest and you really don't want to be in a strange city, walking from restaurant to restaurant in the hope that they'll have a table free. I might have been happy enough to wing it in my twenties and thirties but not now.

And, in most places, you can make reservations online and relax in the confidence that regardless of what else happens, you've got a decent meal to look forward to. Guidebooks will suggest the sort of places you might choose. This is not really true in Tirana - there is only one useful guidebook, the Bradt guide - and online booking is still in its infancy.

However, the advantage of staying in a really good hotel is that the concierge will help you with the language barrier and know whether or not a restaurant (a) still exists and (b) is any good. I'd found a fish restaurant relatively nearby which came recommended and so I asked the concierge to make a booking for me, which she kindly did.

The sun sets in Tirana at pretty much the same time as it does in London at this time of year, so it was dark by the time we set off for our gentle stroll to Galeone, some twelve minutes from our sanctuary. And, as we discovered, it's in an area of the city which is rather livelier than the city centre proper, full of cafes, restaurants and young people out enjoying themselves.

The restaurant, however, was seemingly deserted. And that's because Tirana is like so many Southern European cities, a place where people eat late. The service was friendly though, and our total lack of Albanian proved to be no obstacle. As for the seafood, my octopus carpaccio and sea bream were excellent, and the Albanian white wine - yes, Albania is a wine producing country - perfectly drinkable.

One of the things about Albania is that, if you like Italian food, you'll do rather well, as seafood is readily available and the strong historic and cultural links between Italy and Albania - not always voluntary - mean that there is a tradition of awareness of how Italian food should be prepared.

It's clear that, as part of Albania's emergence onto the European stage, that the culinary scene is developing fast. There is plenty of good food to be had, it's relatively cheap by our standards, and there's a strong service culture, with pride taken in presentation and delivery. It reminds me of cities like Sofia and Tallinn where, after the end of Communism, the freedom to do things differently led to a spurt of great restaurants and interesting meals inspired by the available local ingredients.

We weren't going to eat out the next day though...

Unitary Suffolk incoming?…

I was, I admit, somewhat surprised when Creeting St Peter’s county councillor, Keith Welham, noted last Monday at our Parish Council meeting (which reminds me…) that the prospect of a unitary authority or authorities for Suffolk had reared its head again.

It shouldn’t come as a complete surprise, I guess, because the argument that multiple tiers of government are less financially efficient than one has been around for a long time. But it’s a brave government that commits itself to a major reorganisation of local government, especially this early in its mandate.

And, having read the article in The Times yesterday (and no, I’m not linking to it), it strongly suggests that there will be a single Suffolk unitary authority, based on the suggestion that Jim McMahon, the Minister for Local Government, has concluded that an authority serving no less than 500,000 or so is the minimum likely to succeed.

This is not my first rodeo, nor is it Suffolk’s though. Plans to replace six District, one Borough and one County Council at the tail-end of the Brown administration fell in part due to the fact that there was no agreement on what represented a viable size for an authority, that the Minister, Hazel Blears, seemed to have no consistent policy on that point and that both opposition parties were clear that they’d reject any such proposal. It did not end well, with much effort and some resource wasted in the process.

What I didn’t really appreciate then, but do now, is the impact on the relationship between a Parish Council such as mine, and the principal authorities that we have to interact with. We become increasingly remote from the levers of power, and a lot of effort will be required to establish an effective working arrangement with a larger, further away, County Unitary. And, if they withdraw from discretionary service provision, whilst a town or large village might be willing to step in, how does my community, with an annual budget of less than £6,500, do the same?

But, if the Government are serious about (effectively) imposing such a solution on Suffolk, they will inevitably find a way of doing so. My fear is that, instead of one financially struggling County and five junior Districts/Borough doing alright, we’ll end up with a Unitary authority that, as has been the case in places like Somerset, increasingly withdraws from all but mandatory services for lack of funds. And that is not an outcome I look forward to with anything but dread…

A cautious dip into the Regional politics of the Liberal Democrats

You might think that I'd have learnt better, having served as Regional Secretary and then Regional Candidates Chair in London, and then as Regional Secretary in the East of England, but I find myself hoping for a somewhat gentler return to the fray as a member of the East of England's Regional Candidates Committee.

Now, that said, there is the small matter of an election to win first, with six candidates for four places. My odds are perhaps improved by the slightly puzzling failure of two of my opponents to submit a manifesto, and the high probability that another will be directly elected to be the Regional Candidates Chair, but I take nothing for granted, even though I'm the only candidate who is running for just the one position.

So, why am I doing it?

I've always been fairly outspoken about the way we select our Parliamentary candidates but also about the importance of preparation by candidates. As I've written in the past, we can create all the pathways we like, but you can't just rock up at the last minute and expect to beat opponents who have been "working the patch" for months and even years. I've seen more of that than I'd like.

As Liberal Democrats, we rely heavily on a good ground war, and any successful Parliamentary candidate needs a strong relationship with the members of the Local Party who, by definition, will do a lot of the heavy lifting of leaflet delivery, canvassing and building the team that will organise, fundraise and all of the other essential stuff that is needed to win. And, no matter how charismatic you think you might be, familiarity matters.

As a member of a Regional Candidates Committee, my hope would be to work on a plan which would allow Local Parties to move as quickly as they'd like, and offer potential candidates the time and scope to effectively pitch for a job. What matters is knowledge and information, and if being a Parliamentary candidate is to be treated as being a bit like a career, you need to give people the tools they need to plan that "career".

That means getting as many potential candidates through the development process as early as possible, so that they can then focus on a seat or seats that they believe they could win selection for, keeping them informed of opportunities as far out as possible and then letting them do what they think needs to be done to be successful.

Meanwhile, a audit of Returning Officers, some refresher training if there are significant rule changes and a call for new RO "blood" will enable the Regional Party to be ready to respond to the needs of the Regional and National Campaign Teams.

I acknowledge that this sounds a bit like a pitch for the job of Regional Candidates Chair. So, why didn't I run for the post? Well, I have plenty of time for the incumbent (who is running for re-election anyway) and not enough time of my own to allow me to lead in the way I would see fit. I am, apparently, a busy person with everything I'm doing in the Town and Parish Council sector, and besides, it feels a bit presumptuous to turn up and run for a serious position. Besides, I'm not convinced that the powers that be who currently run English Candidates Committee would be wildly keen on having me back - I was something of a "wild child" in those days (relative to the membership of the Committee, that is). Ironically, more than a decade away has seen me mellow... a bit...

A gentle introduction to Albanian politics

Friday morning dawned, and we had an appointment in the diary. But it was time to explore, and thus time for a walk.

Tirana is designed on a north-south axis, which runs from the Technical University at the southern end, leads you up Bulevardi Deshmoret E Kombit across the River Lana (described as an open drain by one commentator) to Sheshi Skenderbej, one of those vast setpiece and rather stark squares that appears to have been so attractive to communist planners.

I guess that it works if you want to hold military parades but, as a public space, it needs filling with something. Many of the surrounding buildings are of the "marble box" variety, although the National Museum may be about to emerge from its current disguise as something rather more pleasing to the eye.

The former Mayor of Tirana, and now Albania's Prime Minister, Edi Rama, took the view that the cheapest way to brighten up the city was literally to paint things in bright colours. And, all credit to him, it clearly worked, although sunshine does help. Tirana is an unexpectedly cheerful place, with trees and a sense of civic pride. And, having been to Moldova, where you probably couldn't say the same of Chisinau, it does make a difference.

There is a vast central mosque, but it isn't historic, having been built recently, although, in the corner of Sheshi Skanderbej, there is the Et'hem Bey Mosque, rather dwarfed by its surroundings, with a clock tower next to it. It does feel a little out of place, but it's fairly miraculous that it survived at all, given that the Hoxha regime persecuted religious practice and declared Albania an atheist state in 1967.

We had somewhere to be though, and with ID in hand, we arrived at a barrier where a security guard stopped us. We don't speak Albanian, funnily enough, and the security guard didn't speak any English it seemed, but the idea that we were here on "business" seemed to get across and, returning to his little hut, he emerged with a piece of official looking paper with our names on it.

The Albanian Parliament isn't the most imposing building. You enter a small lobby with the usual security screening equipment and there's a door in front of you which, as it turned out, leads directly into the Parliamentary chamber. This looks curiously like a small theatre which, as it turned out, was exactly what the building was prior to conversion, a puppet theatre to be precise (cue jokes about politicians...).

Our hosts were most welcoming, and we were escorted into the chamber and encouraged to sit in the front row - the nearest I'm ever likely to get to being a Select Committee Chair - whilst a young lady from the Parliament's Civic Engagement Team explained how things work in the Albanian Parliament in fluent English. There was some detail on the internal politics and some of the issues that arise, and we offered some thoughts in response. 

There is an interesting similarity between the Scottish Parliament and its Albanian counterpart in that both have an electoral system designed to avoid one-party majorities - Albania uses multi-member constituencies based on the twelve counties, with the D'Hondt system used to decide who wins.

In Albania, however, the political fragmentation which usually follows from the introduction of such a system hasn't happened yet, with two dominant players still in place. The Socialist Party has a majority of seats, albeit it a small one, but remains disciplined, unlike the opposition Democratic Party.

All in all, it was a very interesting opportunity to learn more about the politics of a country which seldom gets much positive coverage, and we emerged from it somewhat the wiser.

As we left, I spotted a side gate which we could exit through. It turned out, as security guards hurried towards us that, although it was open and seemingly led to a public street, we were really encouraged to use the main entrance. They let us out that way anyway, smiling as they waved us on. it all felt very Albanian, formal but friendly...

You probably don't remember me, Gillian Gloyer, but I owe you a debt of gratitude...

This is, it seems, the only guidebook that focuses entirely on Albania. No, there isn't a "Lonely Planet Albania", usually my first choice of guidebook if I'm going somewhere a little of the beaten path. No, if there's a guidebook to the Southern Balkans, you might find a section on Albania, but I guess that the demand isn't there.

I get that. Albania isn't a huge country, with a population of less than three million, internal travel isn't straightforward (don't ask about trains), and there haven't traditionally been many direct flights to Tirana, although that is changing, and fast. But you'd think that there might be more enthusiasm to write guides, especially given that it has increasingly appeared on lists of interesting places to explore.

But no, not yet, is the answer. But Bradt are on the seventh edition of "Albania", so that's what I bought, courtesy of our local independent bookshop, Dial Lane Books (very sound, socially aware, probably knit their own muesli but a great resource in a town that needs more such things).

The name of the author caught my eye though. Gillian Gloyer? That Gillian Gloyer? The legendary Scottish Young Liberal who with others, blazed a trail through the International Federation of Liberal and Radical Youth (IFLRY) in its radical glory days? I did some research. And yes, it is her. Before my time, I admit, but she was still spoken of by the time I arrived in the (very) early nineties.

And the guidebook? Well, the seventh edition is now more than two years old, having been published in June 2022, and suffers as all guidebooks do, from the increasingly rapid development (and failure in some cases) of hotels and, in particular, restaurants, but as a means of guiding your steps and your expectations, it was a very successful purchase indeed. And, if I were to return at some point, with the intention of getting beyond Tirana, I would probably count on it again.

So, thank you, Gillian, wherever you are...

Deep in the Balkans, a long weekend in Albania...

I have now established a tradition that birthdays with a zero in them merit a trip to somewhere new and, potentially, exciting. Admittedly, it's a tradition that might not get much of a run, given that I'm now officially in my sixties, but nonetheless, if in twenty years I report back from Luanda or Dili, you'll know that I'm still in decent form.

But, given that we're been doing a lot of travelling, I wasn't going to be quite so ambitious for this particular celebration. And, I'd heard a lot about Albania - apparently an up and coming destination, now served by British Airways - so, for my seventy-third country, it seemed like a decent choice.

Albania does suggest a rather darker corner of Europe, and its reputation for blood feuds, poverty and isolationism perhaps doesn't appear very inviting, but I'd booked us into a nice hotel - of which more later - and we'd made a few contacts in advance, which offered some reassurance. After all, if somewhere turns out to be truly awful, you can always hide out in the hotel and get some light pampering.

The weather wasn't great when we descended through a rather murky sky into Mother Teresa International Airport - she's a bit of a national hero here, even if she was (whisper it quietly) actually born in modern day North Macedonia. We cleared immigration and customs quickly and found a taxi to take us to the hotel. So far, so good.

Our hotel turned out to be part of the new Air Albania Arena, a rather snazzy facility which, despite appearances, holds the national football stadium. On the outside, expensive shops, cafes and restaurants, with anonymous large gates scattered amongst them which lead to the various sections of the stadium. The tower on the left is the hotel, a Marriott, and we were on the twenty-third floor, virtually at the top.

Our room wasn't ready - we were a bit early in truth - but we were invited to sit in their M Club lounge whilst it was prepared, so no problem there. We were told about the happy "hour" with free drinks and snacks from 5.30 until 8.30, which sounded promising, and invited to call in at any time of day or night to pick up soft drinks or snacks, which sounded even better.

And, soon enough, the room was ready. Nice room, amazing view across Tirana and over to the low range of hills which separate the city from the Adriatic Sea. Admittedly, as usual, there were more buttons to control the lights and even the curtains than I would ideally like, but very nice all the same.

It was time for a little explore, so we walked into the centre of the city. I will admit that, if you're coming in the hope of enjoying some historic architecture, Tirana is likely to disappoint, as it wasn't really anywhere of significance until it became the capital in 1912. And, to be honest, the Stalinist design which did go up after World War II isn't likely to draw impassioned architecture students any time soon.

It was a pleasant enough orientation though and with night falling and the lure of free drinks, we headed back to our hotel. We'd just settled in when there was a knock on the door. Outside was a nice man with... cake and a card.

Yes, they were marking my birthday with what turned out to be a stunningly rich chocolate cake, more than enough to share between the two of us - note the healthy fruit on top - with a convenient sign made out of more chocolate.

And that's why, when you sign up for a hotel chain's frequent guest programme, you give them your birth date...

As we ate our cake, in anticipation of a pleasant evening in the M Club lounge, I relaxed. Everything was going to be just fine...

Vote for me... please?

"Who are these two miscreants?", I hear you ask. On my right is Daniel Obst, who is my usual co-Returning Officer at ALDE Congresses. We're considered to be sound, independent and competent which, given that he's a judge and I'm a tax inspector, is probably reassuring in a whole bunch of ways. The picture was taken in Stockholm last year, as we successfully delivered another uncontroversial set of Bureau elections.

In truth, it's a much less onerous job these days, as voting is electronic, and our role is more to reassure, make eligibility rulings and ensure that the process runs smoothly and the result accepted by all candidates.

But why this picture, and why now?

Well, I'm running for election, and I needed a photograph of myself to include in the manifesto. The catch is that there just aren't that many pictures of me, and even fewer "good" ones. And, by good, I mean pictures where I look vaguely as though I don't mind being photographed and not like a walrus in a jacket. This one is one of the better ones and, given that I'm running for a place on my Regional Candidates Committee, a picture with the word "elections" on it seems somewhat apposite.

Unusually, I'm involved in a contested election - there are six candidates for four places - and I don't really know my opponents that well. In fact, the only one who I am confident I would recognise in a room full of Liberal Democrats is the current Regional Candidates Chair.

And, perhaps unusually, the East of England Regional Party elections are hotly contested, with the only uncontested posts being Secretary (plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose...) and the four places on the Regional Policy Committee. Even the Presidency is contested which is... unexpected...

This means that I'm theoretically required to campaign, although how you do that when you have no access to a membership list is beyond me. And yes, I accept that ordinary members in, say, Hertsmere, probably don't want to inundated with phone calls and e-mails from me and a cast of dozens. That means that I'm going to have to rely on my good reputation, a track record of competence and a good social media game. Oh, and the contacts that I've made over forty years in the Party, which may count for something.

I do get a manifesto - A5, landscape, which doesn't really allow for an expansive statement of the wonders I have wrought over the years and those I might perform if elected, but this is what I've written...

I’m Mark Valladares and I want your vote to be part of the next Regional Candidates Committee. Why me, and why now?

A General Election may be more than four years away, but there’s a lot of work to do even now. The Selection Rules are being reviewed, we need to find and approve more potential PPCs, train Returning Officers and Assistant Returning Officers, and encourage Local Parties to start their selections earlier and support them as they go through it. None of it should be left to the last minute.

And this can’t be done in isolation, as we need to work across the Party to help meet our wider goals. So, what skills and experience would I bring to the Regional Candidates Committee?

• I know how our candidate systems work, as a veteran Returning Officer over more than thirty years, a past candidate assessor and a former member of the English Candidates Committee.

• I appreciate the burden that our processes can place on Local Parties, having led moves to simplify the Selection Rules and make it easier for non-target seats to choose their Parliamentary candidates

• As a former Regional Secretary in two English Regions, I understand how Regional Parties work, as well as the importance of reporting back

I’m a member of the Ipswich Local Party, sit on Federal Council and, in my spare time, I’m the Chair of a small Parish Council in mid-Suffolk. Questions, or simply want to know me better? You can reach me on markv233@aol.com, check me out on Bluesky, or on my blog.

I think that it sums me up pretty well, demonstrates my strengths and, all things being equal, should give me a chance to win. Time will tell, I guess...