“Things can change only through strong personalities. I am not very good at suppo…” — Edi Rama

Politics has come to resemble a cynical team game played by politicians, while the public has been pushed aside as if sitting on the seats of a stadium in which passion for politics is gradually making room for blindness and desperation.

I'm not sure I am a politician. I would say that I am still an artist, and I'm trying to use politics as an instrument for change.

For 11 years, I was mayor of Tirana, our capital. We faced many challenges. Art was part of the answer, and my name, in the very beginning, was linked with two things: demolition of illegal constructions in order to get public space back, and use of colors in order to revive the hope that had been lost in my city.