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How Trump’s son-in-law sparked a revolt in Albania

Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump want to build a luxury resort in Albania. Albanians aren’t having it.

The Trump family has had Albanians up in arms for over a month now, as anger over a luxury real estate development has grown into a protest movement against government corruption and what they see as a political system that protects the corrupt over its citizens. Many observers describe the demonstrations as Albania’s largest civic protests since the fall of communism in the early 1990s.

The movement, dubbed “The Flamingo Revolution,” began in late May after President Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, and her husband, Jared Kushner (also moonlighting as one of Trump’s Middle East peace envoys), set their sights on developing an island in the Adriatic Sea.

The proposed development includes a resort on Sazan Island and another luxury resort with up to 10,000 tourist accommodations that would affect the Vjosa-Narta Protected Landscape on Albania’s southwestern coast. The area is home to endangered Mediterranean monk seals, flamingos, nesting sea turtles, and hundreds of migratory bird species.

The proposal has been championed by Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, eliciting outrage. But for many Albanians, the Kushner-backed development is only the latest flashpoint. Protesters say years of corruption, weak government accountability, and an economic model centered on luxury tourism and foreign investment have benefited political elites while doing little for ordinary Albanians.

To better understand the protests and why so many Albanians have become disillusioned with their government, Today, Explained co-host Noel King spoke with Politico’s Jakob Weizman, who has covered the........

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